This opinion piece was prompted by the recent publication of Stephen Hawking’s last writings, where he mentioned some ideas on superintelligence. Although I have the most utter respect for his work and vision, I am afraid some of it may be read in a very misleading way. I’ve been pondering whether or not I should write on the topic of the current “AI anxiety” for a while, but always concluded there would be no reason to, since I don’t have any strong opinion to convey about it. Nevertheless, there is just a number of myths I believe are easy to debunk. This is what I’ll try to do here. So off we go, let’s talk about AI, transhumanism, the evolution of intelligence, and self-reflective AI. (This piece was originally posted here.)

By Olaf Witkowski

In this post, I write about the problem of sphere packing and augmented communication in the future of the bio- and technosphere. In this post, we will explore how connecting these intelligent machines in the future, through an increasingly interconnected and extremely high-bandwidth network, can bring about new paradigms of learning. I’ll try to flesh out the reasons for the power of this new learning, and why it may make for technology with even faster learning than current levels. The secret ingredient may be found in the advent of optimal communication protocols, developed by AIs for AIs. (This piece was originally posted here.)

By Olaf Witkowski

What is intelligence? How did it evolve? Is there such thing as being "intelligent together"? How much does it help to speak to each other? Is there an intrinsic value to communication? Attempting to address these questions brings us back to the origins of intelligence. (This piece was originally posted here.)

By Olaf Witkowski