Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
Mapping AI and AI Governance
Compared to earlier maps of the world, this has some useful detail. For example, a skilled kayaker could use it to get from the south coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to either Cuba or Columbia.
With a sober assessment of AI’s strengths and weaknesses, we might have a map of AI as good as Theatrum Orbis Terrarum in 3-10 years.
We will need to get past the limitations of the recent AI safety summit at Bletchley Park (BP) initiated by the UK while building on its strengths.
Big issues include the need for embodied intelligence and more weight to actions vsl words. Both those are part of the current scene, although press coverage is weak.
BP: geographically broad, but only the elite were heard
“Trade unions and rights campaigners have accused the UK government of “squeezing out” millions of workers from this week’s artificial intelligence summit, while giving too much influence to Big Tech.” — FT.com 30 October 2023
The open letter was signed by an broad group representing many of the world’s unionized workers including:
The Trades Union Congress, representing 6 million UK workers
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), representing 60 unions and 12.5 million American workers
International Transport Workers Federation, representing 18.5 million workers globally
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), representing 45 million members from 93 trade union organizations in 41 European countries
UNI Europa Union, representing 7 million European service workers
UNI Global Union, representing 20 million service workers in 150 countries
IndustriALL Global Union representing over 50 million workers in 140 countries
The Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
International Trade Union Confederation, representing 191 million trade union members in 167 countries and territories
BP: 26 countries and the EU participated
Participants signed the Bletchley Declaration, which emphasised the need for international cooperation to make use of AI’s potential and manage AI’s risks.
“We welcome the international community’s efforts so far to cooperate on AI to promote inclusive economic growth, sustainable development and innovation, to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to foster public trust and confidence in AI systems to fully realise their potential.”
“…we resolve to sustain an inclusive global dialogue that engages existing international fora and other relevant initiatives and contributes in an open manner to broader international discussions, and to continue research on frontier AI safety to ensure that the benefits of the technology can be harnessed responsibly for good and for all.”
Such broad participation required overcoming pressure to exclude countries that were not western style democracies, such as China.
BP: National rivalries mask reality
Discussion of AI, the US, and China usually treat it as a horse race. Prior to the London Meeting, many did not even want China to be included. But…
“China is the most important country at this talk. If China wasn’t there, none of it means anything… If someone as important as China decides to ignore the precautions and just go full steam ahead, then no one else has a choice.” — Zvi Mowshowitz of Don't Worry about The Vase on China Talk podcast.
Mowshowitz includes a detailed, hopeful, and inquisitive appraisal of the Summit in his newsletter.
Loretta Lynn and Jack White
The R. F. Kuang connection
R. F. Kuang, one of my favorite authors, discussed a number of issues that she shares with people likeTaylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo in a recent piece in Time. It is hard for me to imagine life in that rarefied atmosphere, but I loved reading the article even if my age and talent level render it somewhat abstract.
Kuang takes on big themes. As a teenager she wrote "The Poppy Wars", a fictional account of the Sino-Japanese War seen through the eyes of a female Mao. How many Americans or British even know WWII began in 1937?
Next she took on British colonialism with Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution. I got, and still get, a thrill just from the title/subtitle. The book does not disappoint.
The Olivia Rodrigo connection
Twenty years ago, it would never have occured to me that someone groomed in the Disney star making machine would describe Jack White her "hero of all heroes." and then tilt toward Rage Against the Machine in their second album. (Wikipedia)
It gives me endless pleasure to see people like Kuang and Rodrigo, with their astounding influence, have roots that I can recognize and value.
I hope that in 40 or 50 years, they both shine as brightly as Lynn did when she recorded Portland with Jack White.