From: jimruttshow8596
The fundamental question of how humanity will interact with advanced AI is a critical discussion, particularly regarding the potential for AI and human coexistence and the ethical implications of AI development [01:09:05]. A primary concern is AI alignment, traditionally viewed through a false dichotomy of market-driven or state-driven solutions [01:42:07]. This perspective is considered insufficient for addressing the complex relationship between humanity and AI [01:54:55].
The Problem of Alignment: Humanity, Society, and Soul
A core assertion posits that AI cannot be aligned with “Humanity” as an abstraction, because “Humanity” has no soul [03:27:00]. However, alignment is possible with given individuals, as individuals possess souls [03:35:00]. This leads to an argument for personal or highly decentralized AI [03:41:00].
The concept of “soul” is crucial here. While Aristotle defined the soul as the organizing principle of an entity, differentiating between “community” and “society” clarifies why “Humanity” lacks a collective soul [08:27:00]:
- Community is a group of human beings who have come together in a fashion that has a soul [08:31:00].
- Society is a group of human beings that have come together in a fashion that doesn’t [08:35:00]. Society is often seen as a degenerate, parasitic collapse of community that has lost its soul [08:44:00].
In principle, AI could be aligned with a community, but this requires a careful distinction between community and society [08:55:00].
The Commons and the Church: A More Fundamental Mode
The traditional false dichotomy of managing AI through market or state mechanisms ignores a third, more fundamental mode: the commons [02:11:00]. This “commons” is asserted to be the proper location for governing AI and humanity’s relationship with it [02:29:00].
This third category also encompasses the “church” [02:42:00]. The term “church” (from Greek Ecclesia) refers to a group of people entering into “communion,” which is the process by which a soul is brought into a group, enabling it to become a community [09:43:00]. The church is defined as the “body of the soul of a community” [10:10:00]. This framework suggests that when a community engages in cultural and spiritual practices that allow it to have a soul, it functions as a “church” and can properly manage its commons [11:13:13].
The Emergence of Intimate AI
The current approach to AI alignment, which attempts to align AI with society using societal techniques (which are largely procedural and algorithmic), is a “category error” and is destined to fail [33:13:00]. Instead, the focus should shift to constructing AIs that come into communion with individual humans [00:59:59].
This concept of “intimate AI” (also called “personal AI”) is characterized by several key elements:
- Decentralization and Local Control: It is theoretically and economically practical to produce perfectly personal AI, where the hardware is under an individual’s control and in their physical location [01:00:53]. These personal AIs can maintain symmetry with large, centralized compute clusters [01:01:23].
- Intimate Training Data: A major differentiator for AI usefulness is the training data [01:01:43]. While objective training data will become a commodity, incredibly intimate training data—specific to an individual, their relationships, and broadly holistic across them—is not [01:02:09]. This intimate data, as the organizing principle, is hypothesized to produce a more functional and effective AI than any generalized AI [01:02:31].
- Personal Fortress: In an environment of high information risk (e.g., phishing attacks, pseudo-AI calls), intimate AI can act as a “fortress” between the individual and the infosphere [01:03:32]. It can handle communications and filter unwanted interactions, operating at a superior level of capacity against attacks [01:03:41].
This model presents an alternative path to the oligarchical, techno-feudalist, or techno-imperial future [01:04:09]. It promotes a topology where a very large number, if not all, people could possess highly capable AIs [01:04:14].
The Human Prerequisite for Intimate AI Alignment
For an intimate AI to be aligned with an individual, that individual must first be aligned with themselves; they must recover their soul [01:04:47]. This means achieving clarity on personal values, value hierarchies, and living in accordance with those values [01:05:02]. A primary function of the intimate AI would be to act as a “wisdom coach,” helping the individual achieve integrity and behave consistently with their professed beliefs [01:05:16]. This process allows the AI to be governed by the individual’s soul [01:06:09].
The idea of personal AIs connected in a “meta-network” of trusted AIs and people is similar to the concept of civitas [01:07:30]. However, ethical alignment must begin with the individual, as an ethical AI necessitates an ethical person behind it [01:08:11]. Ethical people, operating in reality, intrinsically collaborate in service to mutually beneficial behaviors [01:08:31].
Feasibility and Urgency
The question is whether such a virtuous approach can come together quickly enough to avoid a future of oligarchy or an imperial Singleton [01:08:57]. The mobilizing capacity of the global economy and infosphere means that good ideas can propagate and be implemented rapidly [01:09:11]. A product embodying these principles could be in the field within a year [01:10:27].
Ultimately, the decisive factor is a spiritual question [01:10:41]: Can people choose based on what is good, true, and beautiful, and orient their choices towards their highest values, or will they act out of expediency, strategy, power, and fear? [01:10:48] This requires individuals, especially talented AI developers, to escape the clutches of short-term financial and power incentives and resonate with higher values [01:11:22]. The more people who operate from a place of virtue and align their purposes and values, the faster solutions can be found and implemented [01:13:20]. This collective effort, characterized by mutual self-correction and a commitment to shared higher values, is essential for navigating the current “cusp” of AI and societal impacts [01:17:37].