Comment by adventured
2 years ago
> Bad acting humans with AI systems are the threat, not the AI systems themselves.
It's worth noting this is exactly the same argument used by pro-gun advocates as it pertains to gun rights. It's identical to: guns don't harm/kill people, people harm/kill people (the gun isn't doing anything until the bad actor aims and pulls the trigger; bad acting humans with guns are the real problem; etc).
It isn't an effective argument and is very widely mocked by the political left. I doubt it will work to shield the AI sector from aggressive regulation.
It is an effective argument though, and the left is widely mocked by the right for simultaneously believing that only government should have the necessary tools for violence, and also ACAB.
Assuming ML systems are dangerous and powerful, would you rather they be restricted to a small group of power-holders who will definitely use them to your detriment/to control you (they already do) or democratize that power and take a chance that someone may use them against you?
Communists and anarchists understand that the working class needs to defend itself from both the capitalist state and from fascist paramilitaries, thus must be collectively armed.
It’s only a kind of liberal (and thus right wing) that argues for gun control. Other kinds of liberals that call themselves “conservative” (also right wing) argue against it and for (worthless) individual gun rights.
By that logic:
Are we going to ban and regulate Photoshop and GIMP because bad people use them to create false imagery for propaganda?
Actually, back that up for a second.
Are we going to ban and regulate computers (enterprise and personal) because bad people use them for bad things?
Are we going to ban and regulate speech because bad people say bad things?
Are we going to ban and regulate hands because bad people use them to do bad things?
The buck always starts and stops at the person doing the act. A tool is just a tool, blaming the tool is nothing but an act of scapegoating.
This argument pertains to every tool: guns, kitchen knives, cars, the anarchist cookbook, etc. You aren't against the argument. You're against how it's used. (Hmm...)
Right, and most tools that can be used for harm are regulated. Cars, knives, and guns included.