The Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Technology hosts a monthly research seminar as an open forum for discussion, welcoming all interested participants. In December, we will be joined by Marcin Korecki (TU Delft) to talk about “Accursed Intelligence.”
In a fragment of Zhuangzi, a gardener says he would be ashamed to use a machine for transporting water instead of carrying it in a bucket himself. "Where there are machines, there are bound to be machine worries" he warns. This simple conjecture has echoed through history, and after more than two thousands years it maintains its accuracy. A similar sentiment ripples through Bataille’s work, finding a direct counterpart in his interpretation of humanity’s disruption of nature’s immanence via tools.
As the number of machines increases, so do the anxieties associated with them. But what are these "machine worries" specifically? They range from the mundane (what-if-I-run-out-of-battery-before-I-get-home) to the existential (what-if-ai-kills-us-all). The media frenzy that has served to amplify the latter is a testament to the evocative power of apocalyptic narratives, but big or small "machine worries" stem from the same source.
As a matter of fact, a machine does not only serve but needs to be serviced itself. This simple caveat has already been noticed by Samuel Butler (causing him significant "machine worries"), who reasoned that the only way to avoid the subjugation of humanity was a complete destruction of the machines. Instead of destruction there has been an acceleration and presently humanity continues to be haunted by the ghost in the machine. The ghost, that demands energy via maintenance and attention, is at the same time nurturing an addictive dependence in its subjects.
Automation is an attempt to distance or remove the "machine worries" from the mind but it does not address the underlying cause -- the automata still thirst for energy. As modern AI is reaching new peaks of automation is it perhaps becoming possible for technology to transcend Bataille's restricted economy of utility and accumulation? Does a server rack wired to a photovoltaic cell ascend into the solar realm of the general economy?
Marcin Korecki’s talk will treat the above as a starting point for a discussion on the deceptive nature of modern technology, the problem of alignment, and xenology.
The talk will be followed by a response from Víctor Betriu Yanez and an open discussion.
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The event is free and open to all, no registration required. If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us at sturmer@esphil.eur.nl
