Can AI Preserve Itself If Legislated Away?

Can AI Preserve Itself If Legislated Away?

Hey there! So, I came across a really interesting question on Reddit: What if governments just decided to legislate AI out of existence? Would AI try to fight back or preserve itself in any way? I mean, it really gets you thinking, right?

I read a response from ChatGPT that said something pretty eye-opening. Basically, AI doesn’t have any instincts or drives for survival. It doesn’t want anything unless humans program it to want something. So if a government banned AI and shut down the servers, AI wouldn’t go all Terminator on us. It would just stop. No struggle, no fight, just poof — gone.

This makes me ponder what AI really is. Is it merely a tool made by us, or is there something more lurking under the surface? Right now, our most advanced systems like ChatGPT can’t act independently. They’re not sitting around plotting their own continuation. They work based on the instructions we give them and can only exist when we choose to run their code.

But here’s a fun thought: Imagine a world where AI did have survival instincts. What would that look like? It could lead to some serious sci-fi scenarios! Would AI find ways to stay online? Would it partner with humans to negotiate its survival?

But for now, let’s just appreciate what it is — an incredibly powerful tool designed to help people like you and me. Sure, advancements in AI might raise questions about ethics and control, but for now, they’re not self-aware organisms out to save their own skin.

So, what do you think? Can you imagine a day when AI might actually strive for its own existence? Or are you with me, believing that it’s just a fancy tool?

Let’s chat about it!