Comment Re: So (Score 4, Informative) 157
Tabs are good since they can be whatever each user wants.
Observation of temporal reflection and broadband frequency translation at photonic time interfaces
Abstract: Time reflection is a uniform inversion of the temporal evolution of a signal, which arises when an abrupt change in the properties of the host material occurs uniformly in space. At such a time interface, a portion of the input signal is time reversed, and its frequency spectrum is homogeneously translated as its momentum is conserved, forming the temporal counterpart of a spatial interface. Combinations of time interfaces, forming time metamaterials and Floquet matter, exploit the interference of multiple time reflections for extreme wave manipulation, leveraging time as an additional degree of freedom. Here we report the observation of photonic time reflection and associated broadband frequency translation in a switched transmission-line metamaterial whose effective capacitance is homogeneously and abruptly changed via a synchronized array of switches. A pair of temporal interfaces are combined to demonstrate time-reflection-induced wave interference, realizing the temporal counterpart of a Fabry–Pérot cavity. Our results establish the foundational building blocks to realize time metamaterials and Floquet photonic crystals, with opportunities for extreme photon manipulation in space and time.
The decision to hold the conference there, of all places, is not readily apparent. From what I can see, the decision was made mostly in secret.
Jan 2023: "In January, the UNFCCC Secretariat declared Asia-Pacific Group’s decision for the UAE to be the host, with Sultan Al Jaber, its minister of industry and advanced technology, at the helm as the conference’s president. Six months later, the UAE announced that COP28 will take place at Dubai’s Expo City." [1]
"This year, it was the Asia-Pacific group’s turn to host, and the United Arab Emirates made an unopposed bid in May 2021." [2]
May 2021: "The United Arab Emirates has launched a bid to host a landmark United Nations climate change conference" [3]
It seems to me that all of the risks they mention are things that humans are already doing but might be boosted by AI. Is AI really the problem here?
Yes, it is. As the paper says, "Without sufficient caution, we may irreversibly lose control of autonomous AI systems, rendering human intervention ineffective."
Combine that with a system sufficiently skilled in AI research, you'll get something that can recursively increase its own intelligence to far-superhuman levels.
Combine that with any utility function we can currently specify, none of which are existentially safe in the limit of optimization pressure, you'll get the extinction of all Earth-born life.
The First Amendment assumes no authority may be trusted with the power of abridging the freedom of speech.
Courts appointed by Congress, or Agencies serving under the President, are equally bad in this regard.
I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning. -- Plato
