Old men, live for a long time! Since announcing his departure from OpenAI last year, Ilya Sutskever, an AI master who has "evaporated from the world" and one of the most important technical heroes behind GPT-4, has finally appeared!
On June 6, he returned to his alma mater, the University of Toronto, to receive his honorary doctorate in science (this is already his fourth degree from How Much is, a real academic master), and delivered a graduation speech with explosive information.
Since he founded the mysterious new company, Security Super Intelligence (SSI), it has rarely appeared and social media has hardly been updated. This speech can be said to be the most systematic and profound thoughts and sharing of the future of AI after he "retired".
Prophecy and warning: AI will complete the "all" of human beings
In the short 10-minute speech, Ilya did not talk about the principles of life in a long way, but directly threw out a shocking point of view:
"One day, artificial intelligence will accomplish everything we can do. Not part, but everything."
As soon as this was said, the audience probably had to take a breath. Why is he so sure? His logic is simple and solid:
"Each of our brain is a biological computer. Since biological computers can do these things, why can't digital computers - that is, digital brains - do the same thing?"
Is this a bit inconsistent? From writing code, doing research, to artistic creation and emotional communication, as long as humans can learn it, AI can eventually learn it.
Reminder from the future: You can't ignore AI because it won't ignore you
So, what should people do in such a world? Ilya quoted a famous saying about politics and used it on AI:
"You may not be interested in politics, but politics will be interested in you."
He said that AI is the same, and it is doubled. You can't stay out of it because AI will have a profound impact on your life, whether you want it or not.
So, his advice is: Go and use it and observe it.
You will develop an intuition by using and observing what today's most advanced AI can do. As AI continues to improve in the next one or two or three years, this intuition will become stronger, and many of the things we are discussing now will become more real and no longer illusory.
Speaking of this, if you want to keep up with the development of AI, just watching news may not be enough. Only by trying and experiencing it yourself can you build a real intuition. The AI navigation website I often visit AI Complete Guide | AI Information | AI Composition It provides a good "observation whistle", which aggregates various latest AI tools and applications, from chat, drawing to programming, scientific research, and categories, which can allow you to "park" the latest combat power of AI in one stop, and is a very good starting point to build AI intuition.
Ilya believes that only when we witness the capabilities of AI can we generate the motivation to truly solve the huge challenges brought by AI.
The soberness and loneliness of pioneers: Even I can't believe emotionally
Even people like Ilya who are at the forefront of AI technology, they admit that they are "It's hard to believe completely at the emotional level" that this drastic change will really happen.
But he stressed that logic seems to indicate that this is likely to happen.
This may be the enlightenment and loneliness of the pioneers--the future is intellectually foreseeing the future, but emotionally, it is like ordinary people, and it is difficult to digest the upcoming changes. He pointed out the uncontrollability of technological development and the lag of social adaptation, which is both a reminder and a deep concern.
Life tips: Accept reality and improve the status quo
At the beginning of the speech, Ilya also gave his life tips, which are very simple but practical:
"Accept reality, don't regret the past, and work hard to improve the status quo."
He said that people are easily trapped in regret for wrong decisions in the past and complain about unfair destiny, and waste a lot of time. A better mentality is: "It's all like this, what should I do next?" This is a lasting struggle with my own emotions. He hopes that graduates can try their best to adopt this mentality and encourage themselves.
Conclusion: The biggest challenge and reward in history
In short, Ilya's speech is more like a reminder from the future. Instead of selling anxiety, he used the most straightforward logic to tell us a future that may not be avoided, and pointed out the attitude that ordinary people should take - observe, feel, and form your own judgment.
AI brings the biggest challenges in human history, but the rewards to overcome it are also the greatest. Among them, how to ensure that the future super intelligent AI is honest and trustworthy and will not deceive humans will be an extremely profound question and the mission of his new company.
Are you ready to start observing?
