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It would be wise to read Marc Andreessen's "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" to get a little confused, and then ask yourself: Does the billionaire venture capitalist support Bitcoin, okay?
After all, the nearly 5,000-word article, published Monday on the website of his venture capital fund a16z, contains phrases such as: “Love has no size.” . Stick to the money"; “We believe in the romance of technology. . . “The smell of trains, cars, electric lights,” and perhaps most surprising: “We believe that any slowdown in artificial intelligence will cost lives.”
Many people from Silicon Valley have read the Andreessen case, whose main argument was: “There are no material problems...”. which cannot be solved with the help of new technologies” - he seems to not only see nothing unusual in this, but also considers it a work of genius.
“This is the way forward,” enthused Brian Armstrong, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, adding: “Thanks @a16z for the breath of fresh air.” The fact that a16z is an investor in his company is clearly a breath of fresh air.
Now, if you're wondering what Armstrong is talking about when he says "recognition latency", let me explain. The word "Decel" means "decelerator" and is a somewhat derogatory slang term used by people who consider themselves part of the new "e/acc community".
On the other hand, "E/acc" stands for "Effective Acceleration", an ideology championed by Andreessen and which is based on the idea that the development of technology - especially artificial intelligence - should not only develop without restrictions, but also accelerate. .
“We believe that we are and always will be masters of technology and that technology will not control us,” Andersen writes. “The victim mentality is anathema to all areas of life, including our relationship with technology—whether it is unnecessary or self-defeating .”
He made a similarly insightful argument on a recent episode of Finding Meaning with Sam Harris , where he explained to Harris what he believes is great and infallible about general artificial intelligence. (I come).
"The reason this thing worked and it was such a huge achievement is because we did everything we could to make it happen... It's like the biggest, most detailed mirror in the world. It's incredible." he said when Harris, clearly less optimistic, pointed this out to Andreessen. If AGI were a reflection of humanity, then it would also reflect the evil in people, Andreessen simply replied, "But what is the moral of each story?" The story is: the good guys win."
I don't know if I would be considered "slower" - firstly, I'm not sure that stopping the development of AI is logical or possible, especially since Western countries are not the only ones working on it. But I am sure that Andreessen's blind faith in all technologies is dangerous.
This, of course, is also of great importance. Returning to Armstrong's article, you might wonder how a man who made a $3.3 billion fortune by waiving commission every time someone trades one of the 242 worthless cryptocurrencies he offers on his platform could think of about what it means. Put on a serious face, because this is how a person is said to cost the “elite” $1.8 billion. But this is precisely the populist tech rhetoric that the crypto brethren have been promoting for years, lining their pockets in the process.
Given the trajectory of cryptocurrencies since a16z launched its $4.5 billion crypto fund last year, it's perhaps unsurprising that Andreessen never mentioned cryptocurrencies or "Web3" in his tech virtuosity speeches (remember them?). However, he takes the classic position: “While decentralization exploits complexity for the benefit of all; Centralization will starve you." It is difficult to take seriously such a statement from the head of an investment fund with assets under management of $35 billion.
Given the moral bankruptcy of cryptocurrencies, it is also difficult to accept that the technology is entirely positive and allows for infinite acceleration. But there are also many areas beyond artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies where technology is wreaking havoc - for example, smartphones and social media are having a devastating impact on the mental health of children and young people.
Simply having more is not the solution to our biggest problems. The only things that can truly help are the things that cannot be measured: compassion, kindness, empathy and, yes, love.
jemima.kelly@ft.com
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