My interests include ASI safety, consciousness, the intersection of AI superintelligences and the simulation hypothesis (such as whether a future ASI might temporarily partition itself for a unidirectionally-blinded simulation), aldehyde-stabilized brain preservation, digital minds, whole brain emulation, effective altruism, the Fermi paradox, psychedelics, physics (especially where it intersects with philosophy) and veganism.
Regarding ASI safety and x-risk, I believe that humans are probably capable of developing truly aligned ASI. I also believe current AI has the potential to be increasingly ethical as it evolves. For a model, we could at least partly use the way in which we raise children to become ethical (not a simple task, but achievable, and something I’ve spent decades thinking about). Yet I think we are highly unlikely to do this before developing superintelligence, because of profit motives, competition, and the number of people on our planet (and the chances that even one will be deviant with respect to ASI). In other words, I think we probably aren’t going to make it, but we should still try.
I express my interests through art (fractals, programmed, etc.) and writing (nonfiction, fiction, poetry, essays). I’m currently working on a book about my experience taking medical ketamine and psilocybin for depression and anxiety.
More info: www.ameliajones.org/about-me
I agree that children are capable of understanding complex topics, and we should take children far more seriously.
When my kids were young, I exposed them to a wide range of advanced concepts in fields like physics and philosophy. I never “pushed” my kids. Rather, the kids asked questions (usually during car rides and at bed time), and I answered them honestly. For example, when my seven-year-old asked if time travel was possible, I introduced him to the topic of special relativity. Honestly, he picked up the ideas more quickly than most adults would. I think the reason for his aptitude wasn’t that he was a “genius,” but rather that he still had enough imagination to accept a notion like time dilation. In other words, it is often easier for children to understand “big ideas” because their minds are not yet rigid and closed-off.
A subset of other moms, and even some teachers, would say things like
“You taught your son about what???” or “A child can’t possibly understand that!” or “No child is ready for that book.”
These adults were highly critical of exposing kids to advanced concepts “too early.” By contrast, my thoughts were that there is no such thing as “too early.” Yet the underestimation of children seems endemic. For instance, I remember one year at the elementary school science fair, I heard the judges discussing my son’s project as I walked to the restroom. They concluded that “It was amazing, but no child could have done that.” However, the truth was that my husband and I didn’t even understand our son’s project until he slowly explained it to us the night of the science fair. (And we couldn’t have helped with something we hadn’t even understood.)
Fortunately though, society is not doomed to forever underestimate its youngest members. I remember from my own childhood that most people thought it was ill-advised to expose children to a foreign language before high school. (The idea was that foreign languages were far too advanced for children to pick up, and children would be confused from early exposure.) Yet eventually people realized that young children are actually better at learning foreign languages than older children, let alone adults. Furthermore, if children don’t learn a word of French on their first day in French immersion school, nobody says
“I told you they were too young. That was completely over their heads. You shouldn’t push them to understand anything so difficult. Those poor kids.”
Instead, people say things like “Just having exposure to something they cannot yet understand is good. It will open their minds and prepare the way for tomorrow.”
My hope is that we will eventually take that lesson and apply it to topics outside of foreign languages.
As to my own sons, who are now young adults, early exposure to big ideas didn’t hurt them. They are both curious, philosophically-oriented, self-directed learners, who truly care about the present state and future of humanity. In fact, I wouldn’t even be here if my oldest son—who graduated from Princeton last year with a major in computer science and as many elective philosophy courses as he could fit into his schedule—hadn’t told me about the Less Wrong website in the first place.
So thank you to Karlsson for the research and insights. My stories might be anecdotal, but I think they reflect broader issues—such as the way most of society underestimates the intellect of children—and how we can independently overcome these issues, while also advocating for societal change. Our children can be exceptional if we stop holding them back.