selig wrote: ↑04 Dec 2023
bxbrkrz wrote: ↑03 Dec 2023
For the first part of your answer
Is AI finally curious by 'nature", or does it still need a little push on that first domino?
My personal guess would be that we are still at the stage where AI is using only what is fed/taught to it. So in that case it would still need a push.
I understand some AI models have already “learned” (or created?) stuff on their own, like the two Facebook AIs that developed their own coded language to talk to (and negotiate with) each other. Granted, they were tasked with finding a way to negotiate IIRC:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-styl ... 69706.html
So I’m wondering how close we are to AIs creating their own form of introspection or curiosity whether it has been coded/learned or not?
The problem with AI (or anything) coming up with stuff on its own is that we humans don't entirely come up with stuff on our own. We exist in an environment. And when we come up with new ideas on our own, we can test them on the environment and others.
Sidenote: check out what is possible with things like LangChain (not sure if this paper used LangChain, but this is the sort of thing it was built for).
Using AI methods that don't (but can) involve neural networks, I've coded a Bomberman AI that does some unexpected things to win. These same methods when combined with neural networks changed our understanding of chess and Go because the AI found novel winning strategies that were counterintuitive to humans but made sense once discovered. But these algorithms are designed specifically to produce AI that comes up with its own plans (it's called Statistical Forward Planning).
These AIs, by the way, only ever played with themselves to get better.
And at the same time, we have predispositions to aesthetics that aren't entirely straightforward. What looks like a scary monster to most may appear "cute" to a psychopath.
On the other hand, human aesthetics could result from some deeper intrinsic beauty that would be appreciated by any intelligent being/entity/AI. After all, geometric shapes have notable properties.
Maybe aliens have also created something like dubstep, and all of our genres are natural conclusions to harmony, arrangement, rhythm and melody.
If that is the case, then the creative abilities of AI can be tested in greater isolation.
But without any frame of reference, a hypothetical creative AI without any human input could be hard for us to distinguish from random noise or complete garbage. Which is a risk human creatives face if they try to create works without any prior influences.