Forgotten technology
Society is a technology
Often, I'm reminded of a technology that is often over-looked.
Technology is the application of science to improve reaching a goal.
A rock is harder than a nut ( science ) and so I can use to open the nut ( technology ).
Binary is the simplest way to write a message ( science ) so I can use on/off electrons to write a message ( technology ).
Writing is persistent language ( science ) so I can use it to write across time and space ( technology ).
What's harder to remember for me is how society is a technology. We have rules and laws, acting like algorithms, for society to work.
Society is an emergent super-intelligence that has appeared as a way to protect its parts ( each individuals ).
That's how super-intelligence was already born and it is still better than most LLMs.
Where societies, we humans, are missing out though, is experimenting with the technologies at our disposition to create better societies.
And yes I do get that it is hard. Even with technologies it is hard to experiment sometimes - there is this notion of "path dependencies" where because a choice was make some time ago, we're stuck with a technology, the best example being the weird-ass keyboards most computers have.
Path-dependencies for societies are real, to a small extent. Path-dependencies are choices - companies could make it mandatory to have rational keyboards, and societies have proven that they could change - for example feudal organisation is not the only way to organise a society.
It is though a mindset - and a fight against people who feel like they have something to lose experimenting.
Also experiments do require imagination.
We have already the ideas for experiments for society, they are out there.
Like having parliaments build by lottery or having bigger or smaller units of societies.
Even in money we could experiment more - and it is something that people actually ask for.
That's where I think LLM owners are funny, because they don't seem to use their tool to experiment much with their organisation.
Technology is the application of science to improve reaching a goal.
A rock is harder than a nut ( science ) and so I can use to open the nut ( technology ).
Binary is the simplest way to write a message ( science ) so I can use on/off electrons to write a message ( technology ).
Writing is persistent language ( science ) so I can use it to write across time and space ( technology ).
What's harder to remember for me is how society is a technology. We have rules and laws, acting like algorithms, for society to work.
Society is an emergent super-intelligence that has appeared as a way to protect its parts ( each individuals ).
That's how super-intelligence was already born and it is still better than most LLMs.
Where societies, we humans, are missing out though, is experimenting with the technologies at our disposition to create better societies.
And yes I do get that it is hard. Even with technologies it is hard to experiment sometimes - there is this notion of "path dependencies" where because a choice was make some time ago, we're stuck with a technology, the best example being the weird-ass keyboards most computers have.
Path-dependencies for societies are real, to a small extent. Path-dependencies are choices - companies could make it mandatory to have rational keyboards, and societies have proven that they could change - for example feudal organisation is not the only way to organise a society.
It is though a mindset - and a fight against people who feel like they have something to lose experimenting.
Also experiments do require imagination.
We have already the ideas for experiments for society, they are out there.
Like having parliaments build by lottery or having bigger or smaller units of societies.
Even in money we could experiment more - and it is something that people actually ask for.
That's where I think LLM owners are funny, because they don't seem to use their tool to experiment much with their organisation.