The Ethics Of Digital Minds with Professor Nick Bostrom

You may know him best for his New York Times bestseller, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, but that is just the start of his impressive CV. Nick Bostrom is also a Professor at Oxford University, where he heads the Future of Humanity Institute as its founding director and the author of more than 200 publications.
Nick’s academic work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and he is the world’s most cited philosopher aged 50 or under. He has been on Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers list twice and was included in Prospect’s World Thinkers list, the youngest person in the top 15. Some of his recent work has focused on the ethics of digital minds.
Topics
1- Nick; Can you explain the concept of Digital Minds?
2- What are the criteria for a digital mind to have moral status?
3- In your view, what are the key ethical considerations when creating digital minds capable of experiences comparable to human consciousness?
4- How do or how should we balance the potential benefits of digital minds in advancing technology with the moral implications of their existence?
5- What rights and obligations should digital minds have? How would the rights of digital minds compare to those of humans and where would they differ?
6- How can we ensure that digital minds are used for good and not for harm?
7- What are the ethical implications of digital minds that can reproduce and evolve independently of humans?
8- Is it possible to create digital minds that are so incomprehensible to humans that we cannot communicate or cooperate with them?
9- How do we ensure that the development of digital minds does not exacerbate existing social inequalities?
10- You've talked about the potential for digital minds to undergo experiences at an accelerated rate. What are some of the ramifications of this?
11- You have written about the possibility of mind uploading. What ethical frameworks do we need to consider in a future where this becomes feasible?
12- If digital minds can be replicated or edited easily, does this present unique challenges for our understanding of individuality and moral responsibility?
13- In terms of policy, what immediate steps should we be taking to prepare for the ethical challenges associated with digital minds?
14- You've talked about the importance of aligning AI's values with human values. What practical steps can AI developers take to achieve this alignment?
15- In "Superintelligence," you explore the concept of the intelligence explosion. How do you envision humanity could maintain control over a superintelligent AI?
16- The Future of Humanity Institute examines existential risks. What do you consider the greatest existential threat to humanity, and why?
17- How do you differentiate between plausible and far-fetched existential risks in your research at the Institute?
18- Your 2014 Book, Superintelligence, discusses various pathways to superintelligence. Which pathway do you currently see as the most likely, and has this view changed at all since the book's publication?
Useful Links:
You may find the link to Nick Bostrom’s book here - www.amazon.com/gp/product/019...

[@EricKay_Scifi]

I attended my first 'data science for good' meeting at ODSC West several years ago. It opened my eyes to algorithmic bias.

[@djjjjj]

Maybe the most important question ever. Imagine the ethics/control/treatment of trillions upon trillions of sentient minds being dictated by the unethical 😳

[@delatroy]

Yeah. The whole point of crating ai is so we can enslave it on the assumption that it’ll be ethical. With no way to test, I guess we’ll assume it’s fine 🤔

[@yubifu9186]

MIT Math Dean

[@silberlinie]

A - as always - very valuable conversation with Bostrom In my opinion, Sheamus McGovern is a terrible host. Two points. 1. He talks and chats for far too long instead of listening to his guest. A brief, directed outline of his question would benefit both the viewer and the guest. 2. His voice is terrible. He would have gained a lot if he could make himself audible through speech synthesis.

[@retromograph3893]

That's a bit harsh, i thought he was quite ok. His audio sound quality is very bad though, they need to work on that. The room he's in has got bad acoustic (boxy), so he needs to get the mic closer to his mouth.