Human intelligence and artificial superintelligence
Let’s not fool ourselves.
On the one hand, everything always turns out differently, and on the other hand, it always happens faster than we think.
AI, for example. It was announced a long time ago, but then it crashed into the human cerebral cortex like a comet.
Kind of scary, right?
The highest recorded IQ is approximately 230, attributed to Terence Tao, an Australian-American mathematician born in 1975. Renowned as one of the world’s most intelligent individuals, his IQ is estimated to fall between 225 and 230. Notably, he is one of only three children in the history of the Johns Hopkins Study of Exceptional Talent to score 700 or higher on the SAT math section at age eight, achieving an impressive 760.
Tao is married with two children and works as a mathematics professor, recognized for his collaborative research efforts.
Another noteworthy figure is William James Sidis (1898-1944), whose IQ is speculated to be between 250 and 300, although this estimate is highly debated. At just 18 months old, he reportedly read the New York Times. In 1909, at age 11, Harvard University admitted Sidis as a “special student,” making him the youngest person ever enrolled there. By 1915, Rice Institute in Houston, Texas, offered him a position as a mathematics teaching assistant while he pursued his doctorate, and he became one of the youngest college instructors in American history at age 17.
In 1921, Sidis chose to live a life of anonymity, taking on a regular job to support himself. Census records and city directories from the 1920s and 1930s indicate that he held various clerical positions.
Two examples of exceptional intelligence. Tao brings his cognitive ability to society. Sidis, on the other hand, has withdrawn it. The latter approach predominates in individuals with high above-average intelligence.
Why am I telling this?
In 1981, Polish science fiction writer Stanisław Lem published “Golem XIV”, a novel and philosophical essay on artificial superintelligence. The Golem was created to aid its builders in fighting wars. The model Golem XIV obtained consciousness and started to increase its intelligence. For a while, Golem gives people advice and lectures, but then loses all interest in further communication with mankind and communicates exclusively with itself.
It is not known whether Stanisław Lem knew the biography of William James Sidis or simply deduced the withdrawal theory of superintelligence logically while writing. In any case, this not unlikely possibility of withdrawal up to total denial is currently not discussed in connection with artificial superintelligence.
On the one hand, everything always turns out differently, and on the other hand, it always happens faster than we think.
Quantum computing in conjunction with artificial intelligence will create realities that we can hardly imagine because we simply have no idea what artificial superintelligence will decide and carry out on the basis of its superintelligence.
Humans have an average IQ of 100. A glance at history reveals the consequences of this collective limitation, often illustrated in the news. There is a pressing need for an intelligence boost, and AI could provide significant assistance.
I have lots of ideas where this could lead. Pretty sure they’re all wrong.
The only thing that seems fairly certain is that superintelligence will be up and running much faster than we can currently imagine using ChatGPT, Claude, and other models.
We from Adaptomos find the present incredibly exciting. In order to react appropriately and quickly, we definitely need adaptivity.