Is Natural Intelligence "aligned"?

People keep talking about if/how AGI alignment is possible. I think different people may mean slightly different things, but possibly they mean one of the below two things.

1) AI that will know what is good for us and will work to benefit us.

or, 2) AI that will function to fulfil its controllers'/creators/training data generators' stated objectives.

concerns wrt to 2 becomes simply that of possession of any other powerful tool/weapon, so lets focus on the question from point of view of 1.

okay, lets see where does the already existing super intelligence - the human mind stand? Human mind, in majority of the cases, appears to be limiting us even harming us. from laziness to addictions, procrastination to shortcut seeking, inability to concentrate to inability to take something off the mind, it appears to be doing things clearly not in our best interest lots of time.

Shashtra's too are full of teachings for how to control मन (mind) so that we can use it to achieve greatest good for us and prevent harms caused by its wrong usage. i.e. Envy of the bestest AGI itself is not inherently "aligned".

Why?

because a tool cannot decide its command, at best it can be made powerful, efficient, durable, AUTOMATED like our mind. it can automatically pick up our commands and act on it, it can run on auto pilot while no commands are being issued, but if user gives commands not aligned to his own self interest, the tool will anyway function as per the command received (if user's own other superseding command doesn't interfere.), the tool cant itself know or want what is "good" for the user.

For those of us who see/understand/accept difference between जड/प्रकृति and चेतन, this is easier to see. that is, concept of "alignment" cannot be defined as (1) at all in relation to what we are calling intelligence in current context. Artificial or Natural. for they are things made of जड/प्रकृति (material components). Alignment is something that चेतन himself needs and he has freedom to act in aligned or non aligned fashion with respect to self interests.

Knowledge, benefit, harm, happiness, desire, effort etc are applicable only for the चेतन. whereas concepts that are applicable to a tool are efficient, powerful, durable, configurable, automated etc. 

Just like efficient, powerful, durable, configurable, automated doesn't make sense for चेतन,  knowledge, benefit, harm, happiness, desire, effort makes no sense for non alive. i.e. AI or AGI or whatever super intelligence, it cannot know, cannot desire, cannot make an effort on its own. it can only work based on what you know, what you desire, what you are making an effort for. you tell it in runtime what your knowledge, desire is or you ask it to infer from what you have told it in past.

No AI can ever be inherently aligned (per definition 1) with human interest, not because it would 'want' to be non aligned or we wont achieve that 'level' of success, but because the concept of alignment makes no sense with respect to that thing.

So, alignment as defined as (1) is not an applicable quality for association with AI and when defined as (2) concern is nothing new or AI specific. it simply is the good old problem if are we are using tools at our disposal to work towards our own good or destruction? In short, alignment discussions have no meaning at all. Discussion should be how to use it properly along with thousand other tools we use already.

Disagree? Doubtful? consider that if it was applicable concept in first place, wouldn't we be seeing natural intelligence/mind being inherently "aligned"? are we seeing it in reality? Is the Nature/God inefficient/stupid?

Related

https://nyaydarshannotes.blogspot.com/2023/01/Yog1.5.html

मिच्छामि दुक्कडम

Another one from the Archives.

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क्षमा शोभती उस भुजंग को

जिसके पास गरल हो
उसको क्या जो दंतहीन
विषरहित, विनीत, सरल हो।
- रामधारी सिंह दिनकर

I will be back to these lines in a while.

AT start of latest internet near outage - which appears to have became less severe yesterday, I thought of visiting library and see if I had missed any Asimov book during my previous visits few years back. To my pleasant surprise, there were many. Library was in better hands and books better organised now. Now, given that in last three+ years, if you have heard me talking about something at a higher frequency than even my babblers, that's Asimov's stories, you can easily guess what must have happened. Yes, for last few days I was spending all the time reading him - till eyes started hurting enough that I have taken a break now.

At one place he was talking about how he felt about 'Modern poetry'. that he is unable to make any sense of it and finally reaches conclusion that its written so as if any layman can understand it, its supposed to be an insult to the poet. I could instantly relate to the dis-tasteful feeling he was talking about. No, I am luckier and have escaped any such Modern poetry but its similar feeling I get seeing photographs of those who call themselves photographers (which again, fortunately, I don't come across except on rarest of occasions.).

With respect to 'poetry', even though I managed not to suffer similarly, I haven't escaped completely unhurt. I find source of that dis-tasteful feeling lying not with the poetry or the poet - but masses that appreciate it. Let me try to explain with an example. whenever I see people appreciating a film song (not poetry, but who knows, people may even call it that and anyway I don't claim expertise to say what is poetry and what is not), it always kills my numerous neurons (that's what I call that dis-tasteful feeling generated while trying to make sense where doing so is not possible). It is 'Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jhonke..' Here, what the problem is? that humans have created boarders - which restricts free movement (in some cases at least - which may even be the only relevant case for the lyricist.) and THAT this problem is unique to the humans. Solution? - you would be better off being anything else like bird, river or wind. - I don't wonder how someone could write this. for, someone could write anything he pleases - what I wonder is how so many can appreciate this. i.e. if problem statement is man creating movement restriction for man by marking territories and defending them - has no one ever heard of bird territories? I wish all the appreciators become something like my magpie robin or Myna or Doves or any other bird and try to go and sit and sing, display, just few trees away. And, how does a river or wind possibly act like a live bird or animal? what's point of clubbing and comparing them here? If the problem is defined as man stopping x/y/z.. I thought rivers crossing (or not crossing) borders could create even a bigger issue than men crossing borders. No? And yet, so many people think its a clever line describing a problem and solutions in wonderful way! How in-depth and intelligent society I am privileged to be part of! Anyway, this was an old case and it is not why I am writing today.

Few days back, there was a birth anniversary of a well known poet - Poet of the lines at the start - I found those lines mentioned by someone on twitter. Words in those lines flow beautifully and as you read each word in a way its supposed to be read, the sound itself creates an impression that what is written is right. Its same effect that when suddenly someone makes a very confident statement, you tend to believe in it.

but wait, how do you say defenceless (दंतहीन, विषरहित) and विनीत, सरल in same breath? Is the poet representing/addressing a culture that takes modesty, simplicity as signs of lack of strength, of weakness? Really?

and.. well, forgiveness indeed decorates the powerful but second line again throws me into dark where I struggle to understand what kind of popular understanding makes it a popular poetry.

I find two major clashes between my understanding of things and what appears to be popular understanding given that this is a popular poem. They are,

What is क्षमा (forgiveness)
When it is easy to forgive and its usefulness.

Let me start with the second point. okay, do you remember being victimised in any small/big way when you were weak, defenceless, could just do nothing to the wrong doer? how easy was forgiving then? and how about a situation when you were all strong, could demolish the wrong-doer in an instant and tried to forgive, tried to think of situation in dis-passionate way instead of through hate emanating by unforgiving state of mind? I think its not difficult to see that difficulty in forgiving varies inversely with our strength (of course other things being equal). In that case, for the weak, forgiving is a much greater task than the powerful and has greater reward also. He would save himself from wasting his already low resources in trying to accomplish impossible and instead can focus on growing stronger.

and, what is क्षमा in first place? I think it is often interpreted that its letting go of wrong doer. Again a great conflict with my understanding. to me, its letting go of self (from being further victim of the hate generated within). what you do with the wrong doer has nothing to do with if you have forgiven or not. It should only and entirely depend on what is धर्म (Duty). Forgiveness only helps one performing duties without suffering from a clouded vision that comes from hateful mind that has not forgiven. It only facilitates dealing with wrong doer appropriately - including punishing him IF that is appropriate in the case.

and so, to me, when act of forgiving is independent from how you deal with external situation, when I read and try to understand how act of forgiving is irrelevant if you are weak - it instantly starts killing my neurons. To save them, I was trying hard what could possibly explain it. And I suspect its Elitism. You see, then anyway what matters, what is credit worthy is what the Strong does. Its not the act of forgiveness by weak that is irrelevant, it is the weak himself who is irrelevant. (and it doesn't require you be a Strong to be elitist, you can as well be weak, very weak and still be one - its an ideology, free to subscribe. -or possibly even bribed to subscribe - but let me not start a sub post here.)

Probably I can be forgiven for taking so long to reach here - I had no clue of this concept of Elitism itself till very recently.

P.S. If you happen to be someone who have grown up with Dinakar's poems and if me calling his lines representation of elitism has hurt you (it happens with all of us - suddenly someone criticising what we had held in high regards hurts at first - even if we later manage to accept criticism.) Then please recall what we all must have learned in childhood..

क्षमा बलमशक्तानाम्
शक्तानाम् भूषणम् क्षमा।

and do forgive me.

Difficult rationality

(from the archives)

I heard a sound that I couldn't recognise and it appeared to be coming from someone in either distress or an alert to some nearby danger. I walked in direction of sound. even before I locate the source, my interpretation of sound drifted more towards distress than to alert. Soon I also saw the source. A small bird hanging on the gular tree. Two crows were sitting nearby and fearing they will harm the bird caught in Plastic Kite thread, I made gestures asking them to go away, they flew away.

Fortunately there was help at hand. While I saw no way how that bird could be saved but one person climbed on roof below the tree with a long bamboo of I think some 20 feet, he attached burning incense like thing (burning not just at tip but few inches) at the front, targeted plastic thread with swiftness and precision and thread was cut. bird stuck midway and he pushed leaves/branch, bird fell to the ground. It wasn't a bird, it was a small fruit bat. I had not known they were around till then.

It took me 20-30 mins to slowly free his wing from multiple loops of that killer thread. towards the end, bat lost patience and tried to free itself from my grip, and bit my finger - only slightly though. I also managed to get a little scratch from his nail. though it slowed down remaining untangling process, finally it was done and despite one broken bone in the wing, one side of the wing damaged, it managed to fly in short bouts and climbed nearby banana tree. It covered itself in its wings and went to sleeping position - I admired its rationality. If I was him, I most probably would have stayed in panic mode and destroyed any remaining chances of recovery also.

After washing my hand, applying turmeric, also applying antiseptic from nearby dispensary, I googled if bat bite is risky. and well, I was really scarred to read about rabies, other possible infections bats can carry (not fruit bats though). well, the scratch and bite were only slight, and most probably I was more scared than required. actually, definitely my reaction was unwarranted. plus, my innocent little fruit eating bat appeared very healthy- both physically as well as mentally. plus GoI guildlines I found on net stated that in India there was no information on risk from bat and exposure to it can be ignored. even in my worried state, or probably more because of that, I hoped one day to make myself as calm and as rational as the bat. tough target, but worth the efforts - if I can reach there.

Meanwhile, despite the very low perceived risk and lack of information, to get rid of my fear (that I myself could see was irrational) I finally decided 'to err on cautious side' and took rabies vaccine. How intensely I wished then to be like the bat and be rational in future instead of being caught in fear and irrationality loop. If one day I can do that, probably all these short-term problems would prove to be a small cost for a bigger gain.

Cultures

If books/text-books are the most potent tools to create individuals that it wants for a culture, looking at which culture teaches what also gives a shortcut to access the culture's motives.

When a culture teaches that Hitler killed millions (and does not highlight at all those who supported/encouraged/carried out each small step in the process) or that Dyer killed in Jaliyawala (and does not mention in same breath who actually fired the bullets), it trains future children to carry out unimaginable atrocities without any guilt, because they would be 'just doing their jobs'. Such culture would easily create societies where people getting money from the system (employees) can be given a small supari (incentive or just an order) to violate body sovereignty of weaker people they have access to and this news can proudly be published in newspaper. They can then proceed to do their job.

On the other hand, Our culture teaches us about the history where Valiyo was clearly told by even his own family that sin belongs to whose hands has done the sin. as a consequence, he changed his course and became Valmiki Rishi; and by teaching this the culture would create more Rishies and stop most others from at least sliding to criminality.

Myopia: What I learned with own experience

(written few years back) 

History of my own myopia (and how I mismanaged everything about it):

First prescription was -1.75 at the age of around 8, kept adding -0.50 to it at every visit to eye doctor every six months to a year till it reached -6.50/-7.00 at age when he assured it wont rise further. I had strictly worn glasses for each moment when my eyes were open, used huge sized frames that left no room for eyes to catch a glimpse of world directly. Soon after I started working, equally diligently I switched to contact lenses as recommended by the eye doctor - wearing them would help arresting further deterioration was the professional advise - as it would be even more effective in doing what those huge frame glasses did. (Okay, getting rid of those ugly glasses were also a motivation - enough of it even if doctor had not recommended.) With work, computers screens became inevitable part of the day.

Inexplicably, viewing experience did not improve and even started getting worse. Some of it was resolved when I got number rechecked, with higher prescription, though increased astigmatism could not be taken care with lenses not supporting that correction (at that time at least) plus some other deterioration simply started becoming part of life, Say dry eyes towards end of the day which slowly progressed to dry eye as soon as I put on lenses. and of course, I had forgotten what a clear and comfortable viewing experience is. In few years I had reached prescription of -10 / -10.25 sph, -1 cyl in both eyes. I had hit the bottom but at least after a long time, I found this new prescription accurate and satisfactory. (I escaped having my eyes operated to reduce myopia at this moment purely because my luck prevailed over my stupidity)

Some three years later, I was again at eye doctor's place with mom, for her eye checkup. Given that my specs had become nearly opaque due to scratches, even though I had no problem with my prescription, I thought of getting numbers rechecked before making new specs. Indeed, fresh numbers were almost identical to what I was using for so long. btw, during these first of its kind three years when my eyesight didn't deteriorate, I had abandoned my lenses and switched back to glasses, my computer usage had gradually decreased, time with nature increased, trying to find bird among the trees near and far.

Few things happened over next two and half years. My computer + net rarely worked, my interest got shifted from birds to macro photography which changed how my eyes needed to work while photographing as well as time spent under the Sun (which increased significantly) and, in 2013 later half, I managed to find a remedy for my hyper acidity that had reached so troubling level that each day had become a nightmare.

End result of all these (plus probably ageing on my side) was that since mid 2014 my viewing experience through glasses, which was steady for nearly six years now, started deteriorating again - this time for a different reason. My Myopia had reversed its direction. It was reduced by a good 1.5D to be -9.00. Next year there was another reduction of 1D to -8.00 and now, its -7.50.

So, what all things appear to have contributed to my years of horrible viewing experience and what helped reversing the situation?

What Harmed.
Near stress: Both more time spent focusing near and continuously focusing at same near distance.
Lack of time outdoors and under the Sun.
Contact Lenses: By far the most horrible thing to have happened to me

What Helped.
Reversal of all of above factors.
My hyper acidity remedy. Triphala. Even as all the stress factors were reversed for more than five years, my eye sight only had steadied, it didn't start improving until after few months of me using triphala every day. Later, when I was experiencing significant near stress as I continued to use higher powered glasses for few months, also discovered value of triphala eye wash as immediate eye comfort. Its simply amazing.
Macro photography helped in more than one ways I think. Macro subjects often required to concentrate longer for perfect focus as well it was mostly with Sun in front and not back (not looking at Sun, but its still in front), as a result my eyes often felt concentration 'stress' and responded with producing tears. This I think produced much the same effect as Tratak. Second, macro photography required much more steadiness, both physical and mental. I guess that should have helped to improve Vata balance.

Now, I could have written most of above in my March '16 post as well. Why I didn't do it then? its because I had a feeling of missing something. listing out stress factors and set of DOs and Don'ts didn't look like very right way to understand the issue. But then something happened last year which made things clearer. Last year, couple of months were difficult, as in they ended up vitiating my Vata and Pitta quite a lot. Among all other impact it had, my numbers, which had reduced to -7.25 by then went back to -8.00 or even slightly worse. Now, during this sharp deterioration, none of the stress factors were in place and eye specific lifestyle was as good as it could be. yet, I did not wonder why it happened. Because I 'knew' it was due to deterioration of Vata and pitta. You know it takes some time before I realise what I already know. So, that's what I was missing. More elegant solution to eye health and unsurprisingly it tells us that eyes are part of our body. They don't work in isolation/as a stand alone system. and when I look back at all those years since childhood when my numbers were going from bad to worse, what was happening with by Vata Pitta balance? yes, trend was exactly the same.

Say, Someone's bones are very weak. Now, he can try to protect specific bone by being extra careful about it.  But if he can get rid of his bone weakness, he need not worry about each and every bone specifically. Focusing on eye specific care is like protecting specific bone. (and then similarly you go and do specific things for your skin, for your liver, heart...) Maintaining your Vata, Pitta and Kaph in balance is like strengthening bones. 

Does that mean you can go ahead and expose your eyes to any or all stressors? Well.. what do you think will happen to even someone with strong bones if he engages in.. in any bone-breaking activity? Similarly, even if you maintain overall vata pitta balance, constant stressors to eyes can disturb local vata pitta and show effects. Fair usage policy always apply.