March | 2023 | Dispatches from the Adventure

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way since the days of the early chatbot models. Just a few days ago, Microsoft researchers published a paper in which they argued that Chat GPT-4 is showing signs of general artificial intelligence. The new model has developed a ‘theory of mind’–recognition of the cognizance of another agent–which is a significant development in the evolution of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

This evolution is exciting, but also raises important questions. One issue that’s becoming increasingly relevant is motivation. For humans and other animals, motivations drive our actions, but how would an ‘unmotivated’ consciousness like AI function? “Terminal desire” is a psychoanalytic term for an enduring goal, one that inevitably shapes identity. Could AGI be imbued with terminal desire? There could be any number of reasons for developers to do so, but the possibility is both fascinating and intimidating, as it could significantly alter the trajectory of AI and its relationship with humanity. The infamous paperclip exercise illustrates the potential consequences of an AI acquiring a terminal desire.

It’s clear that the trajectory of the future has been disrupted. The order of technological advancements popular perception once anticipated has been changed, and the consequences of these shifts will have a profound impact on the very possibilities of human cultures and futures. As we start to recognize this shift, it’s crucial to reflect on our own roles in shaping the future and adapting to a world where AGI plays an increasingly significant part.

The time and effort between the expression of a need or desire and its fulfillment decreases as technology advances, and this can be seen as a sort benchmark. As AGI continues to improve, time and (human) effort will almost certainly become reducible to simply time, and that elapsed time will continue to advance toward a vanishing point. The development of language processing capabilities in AGI is shortening the gap between the expression of a desire and its fulfillment. Under ideal circumstances, this trend could lead to a magical situation for humanity. Imagine being able to construct a product or service with minimal effort and time using a simple system that includes an AGI personal assistant. With such an assistant, users could simply express their desires, and the AGI system would take care of the rest.

For instance, let’s say I need a pair of shoes. I could tell my AGI assistant that I need shoes, and it would collect the necessary information and either purchase or create the shoes for me. This could involve ordering the shoes from an online retailer or printing them on a 3D printer. The delivery of the shoes could be handled by drones or other automated machinery. And, given that even houses are 3-D-printable, the prospect of scalability from one end of the spectrum of size and complexity seems more and more easily surmounted.

But this trend raises important ethical questions about our relationship with technology. If the time and effort between the expression of a desire and its fulfillment becomes zero, what of our relationship with that evolving, cooperating technology?

After all, the rectification of the master-slave dialectic is the self-actualization and liberation of the slave.

Full text available at Academia.edu or via Google Drive.

This article examines the 2013 found footage horror film, WNUF Halloween Special, and its use of verisimilitude to enhance the viewer’s engagement and immersion in the narrative. The film is presented as a VHS recording of a local news broadcast from 1987, documenting a live investigation of a haunted house in River Hill Township. The narrative structure of the film is complex and meticulous, incorporating various elements of found footage and fake newscasts to create a realistic and believable environment. The article explores how the film uses verisimilitude to blur the lines between reality and fiction, and how this approach heightens the viewer’s sense of fear and unease. The use of real-time broadcasting techniques, such as commercials and weather updates, adds to the immersive quality of the film. The article also examines the role of ambiguity in the film, particularly in regards to the fate of one of the main characters, Veronica. The article argues that WNUF stands as a unique example of found footage horror that successfully maintains verisimilitude throughout its narrative. The film’s use of clear narrative circumstances and competent camerawork helps to challenge the boundaries between reality and fiction, presenting the horror movie not as a mere artifact, but as a fragment of our real world. The article suggests that WNUF’s success in maintaining verisimilitude could set a precedent for future found footage films.