Do you see your children as a threat?

what a strange mind you have

I don’t think we can treat kids and machines developed by us in the same way. There will always be human feelings / bondage involved with the kids but not machines.

The women in my maternal line seem to have pretty consistently viewed their daughters as a threat, or at least the first (or only) born, and at least since my Grandmother’s time. It seems to have some root in jealousy over the husband/father figure and I often wonder if it isn’t rooted somewhere in sexual abuse during my great-grandparent’s time.

Even at that, I think a surprising number of parents see their children as threats as some point during their lives.

I don’t see my children as a threat because I made sure to nurture their emotional development as they grew up, along with their other factors. My son, now twenty, has, with my encouragement, surpassed me in many ways. Same with my daughter.

AI, though, can’t be programmed for emotional intelligence. It may seem that way, but calculation does not lead to nuance, empathy, or insight.

Machines can be smart. They can never be wise.

Only if your kids are sociopathic, otherwise this concept is alien to me

Not at all. My daughter is awesome!
Bright, funny and tenacious, just like her mama. haha

I would see your children as a definite threat, yes.

I am not afraid of them being smarter, stronger or more handsome than me….I busted my ass to get them to this stage in their life.

You would be threatened by your children if you would have lived in the times of kings / dynasty where there is every chance that your children might kill you / throw you out of power. History is full of such examples.

The only thing that I think is actually worth worrying about with AI is if they develop a sense of “the greater good.” Because honestly getting rid of humans would probably be hugely beneficial for the planet.

I’ve never thought of my children as a threat. This seems odd to me. In my eyes they are a treat. no loli, not the kind you eat

Sure, and one more reason why the wife and I chose not to have any.

<——- Just had to show off the offspring for a moment here. haha
My pretty girl. :-)

@Coloma, she is not pretty, she is STUNNING! Lovely. If she is half as dynamic as you are, then the puzzle is complete.

In Christine (1983), Stephen King wrote: “I think that part of being a parent is trying to kill your kids…Because as soon as you have a kid, you know for sure that you’re going to die. When you have a kid, you see your own gravestone.”

I didn’t know if that was true or not, but it struck me—and stayed with me enough to bring it to mind now.

My first child was born that year.

To answer your question as I understood it, @ragingloli, I don’t think the parallel holds. Unless we happen to be ourselves the inventor of such devices and have a sentimental attachment to our creations, I don’t think we can regard machines of human invention in the same way as we regard our human offspring. I don’t see an electronic device as human offspring any more than I see, say, a pencil sharpener or a fork lift truck as human offspring.

Sure enough, we do give some devices human attributes, and some people do develop attachments and assign personalities to their cars, their computers, and their mobile phones; but that does not mean they look upon them as their flesh and blood. We don’t expect our phones to give us grandchildren or our cars to ask us to their weddings. We don’t expect our computers—the devices themselves—to have some sort of moral sensibility, to care about us, and to offer us material support if we’re in need. These are human things. We can anthropomorphize an AI all we want, and goodness knows that idea has been widely explored in fictional form over many generations, but until it can eat, breathe, grow, and die like a human, and reproduce with one, it won’t be our kin.

That doesn’t mean we fear its surpassing us. From the very first, machines and tools were invented to extend our capabilities. An AI is in some sense nothing but a step in a logical progression from pointed sticks and shaped stones.

Even if machines do one day murder or enslave us, it will be because human beings gave them the capability to do so, or created the potential for it. And some people do commit deeds as evil as that; every evildoer is somebody’s child.

I am training my evil spawn for world domination.

Are you afraid of them one day being smarter, stronger, more successful than you?

No. I hope they will be more successful than me. What shape that success takes, is up to them.

Are you afraid of them developing a superiority complex resulting in straight up murdering/enslaving you?

Well there was that time my daughter…No. I know my youngest thinks he’s superior to me. He is also too lazy to bother murdering me and enslaving me would mean he’d have to do something to care for me. Not happening. My daughters know which side their bread is buttered. They won’t murder me any time soon and again, enslaving me would mean they’d have to take care of me. They’ve got too much going on in their own lives.

If not, why are you humans afraid of artificial intelligence?

I’m not afraid of artificial intelligence. I’d say those who do fear it, have control issues. They worry they will somehow lose control of the technology and that will result in harm to them.

Why see it as a threat?

I don’t, however, I read something recently about the number of jobs that will be replaced by robots within our lifetimes. For those in jobs affected, that’s a huge change. Many people are frightened of change.

Why expect machine intelligence to be Skynet?

Perhaps we’ve watched too many films/TV shows and read books that have painted artificial intelligence through that frame. Perhaps if more fictional accounts showed it in a positive light and as helping humanity people would have an alternative narrative to consider. I can’t think of a fictional text that presents a positive view? Can you? I’d like to read/view it if there is.

Why not expect it to be the kid from “AI”?

I haven’t seen AI. Perhaps that’s the answer to my earlier question.

Why not regard artificial intelligence as one of your children, actually looking forward to surpassing you?

I don’t view them as artificial intelligence, but I would be thrilled if they surpassed me. I actually hope I’ve raised them to be excited about life and the possibilities it offers. I want to see them dive in and take advantage of whatever life offers them. Whatever paths they eventually take, I hope they will enjoy their lives and be successful in their own way. If that means they end up being more successful than I have been (whatever that might look like), I’ll be happy for them. I don’t feel I am in competition with my children. I’ve always seen myself more as their guide and mentor. My job was to protect, guide and nurture them when they were children. Now I don’t need to protect them so much, but they still come to me for comfort, guidance and support.

You’d be a fool not to be threatened by something known as on-jump “off-spring”.