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'Stupidity' poses a bigger threat than AI, CEO of Italian defense giant Leonardo says (www.cnbc.com)

submitted 7 months ago by CAVOK@lemmy.world to c/europe@feddit.de

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[–] BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world 81 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Education education education god dammit. The only thing that can save our planet and mankind from mankind is free and mandatory quality education all over the world. Teacher should be the best paid and praised job in the world. This is where investment should be made to hope for benefits in two generations... But we are doomed aren't we?

[+] Ummdustry@sh.itjust.works -37 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

I mean I've got things to say:

When did education become a cure for stupidity?
"Free and Mandatory" is some fucking newspeak if I've ever heard it.
"Save ~~our planet and~~ mankind from mankind", the big rock will be fine.
"Teacher should be the best paid and praised job in the world." this will just attract the sort of people who become mega-pastors, celebrities and politicans into the role.

Like don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have recieved a state education, it's a jolly good thing, but let's not oversell it.

[–] BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago (1 children)

For your education then, I benefitted from free and mandatory education. Free as my parents nor I did have to sell a kidney or get indebted: mandatory as it was illegal for my parents to pull me out of school before 16. (yes, illegal)

Now I wish the quality would have been a notch up, but the era was already full speed reducing the supposed "cost" of the education system and civil servants, not weighing in the societal benefits. 40 some years later and the trend hasn't reversed yet

[–] Ummdustry@sh.itjust.works -4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Would your parents have pulled you out of school if it had not been illegal?

What punishment would you have desired to be put upon them if they had?

Why stop at sixteen? Plenty of adults are stupid, children at least tend to still have some their natural curiosity, unstrangled by the world. I suggest mandatory refresher courses, each adult spends every other tuesday evening at a local community centre, learning the latest in medicine, ecology, queer theory, historical research etc... If they fail to attend they get a fine of two days wages. That's hardly unreasonable? Afterall the current polycrisis is urgent! can we really afford to wait 40 years (first for the new education to be implimented) then for the children who go through it to reach positions of influence in society, the skills they've learned dulling against the grindstone of bloodless office jobs all the while?

[–] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

"the big rock will be fine".

I maintain my car monthly so it is able to provide me with mobility. I could not do that, "the big old piece of metal will be fine", it has no feelings and doesn't understand what commuting is, but then it isn't of any use to me now is it.

When we say save the planet, we mean save/sustain the environment we need to live. Nobody actually thinks the rock cares.

Imagine how far off the point you are with your other arguments.

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

When did education become a cure for stupidity

...I’m glad to have recieved a state education

[–] Ummdustry@sh.itjust.works 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, it's nice to have, but it didn't cure my stoopid did it?

Same as a glass of orange juice.

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I was enjoying the irony of the two statements together :-)

IMHO quality education is the only cure for stupidity.

That is to say: I don't think anyone anywhere is inherently stupid. I my experience, the stupid people I've met are all just lacking critical thinking skills, those skills can be learned.

The problem is many people live where those skills are not taught, or other factors prevent them being taught.

[–] Ummdustry@sh.itjust.works 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I feel like a lot is being swept under the rug of "quality", there.

To make an analogy, I am reminded of when chirstians say a "true babtism" saves the soul, and then you look into their theology and it turns out they only believe 0.5% of babtisms to be genuine.

A quality education could be a panacea for all things, that still wouldn't be a good argument for paying for an extra three years schooling, unless you can actually guarentee those years will be a "quality education".

There's a serious case of deminishing returns to education. I know plenty of people who've gone through a good high school and 4+ years of university only to come out of it with not a shred of curiosity or critical thinking skills. I couldn't tell you why, sure it's quite possible their teachers just weren't passionate enough, or their class rooms small enough. It's also possible they just don't value 'not being stupid' enough to even try.

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

paying for an extra three years schooling

I should have been more specific! I was referring to early or basic schooling education: years 1 to 13 in my country. These are the formative years and are the most important for everybody universally. The quality of this education is paramount.

Higher-education wasn't even on my mind! I'd call that quantity of education for the purposes of this discussion.

I couldn’t tell you why, sure it’s quite possible their teachers just weren’t passionate enough, or their class rooms small enough.

This is what I meant by "quality", though I'd add the expertise of their teachers. Anecdotally, I often suspect that kids find maths hard because their teacher doesn't understand the maths they're teaching.

It’s also possible they just don’t value ‘not being stupid’ enough to even try.

Some people I know wear their ignorance as a badge, I just don't get it. I assume there was some fundamental lesson not learned very early on, but can't even guess what that lesson was.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 65 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

AI enhances the threat of stupidity because it allows people to be stupid faster and in greater volumes.

[–] fidodo@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

But it makes people stupid in smarter ways

[–] crispy_kilt@feddit.de 2 points 7 months ago

Not really, it only seems that way

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So does the Internet and everything related to it. So we just shut it all down?

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oh hell, I don't make decisions like that.

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Please Mr president, we need your decision before it's too late!

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Ok, I hereby declare 4 day weekends standard and we're taxing the shit out of billionaires!

Wait, what were we talking about?

Oh yeah, ok, willful ignorance is now a crime punishable by mandatory classes on critical thinking and basic logic.

[–] Kissaki@feddit.de 30 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

The title made me think of something completely different from what he actually said (the quotes are in the article).

He specifically talks about national stupidity, not individual or people/citizen stupidity
He says the technology is neutral, the concern is in how it is being used

What they're saying is not that "stupidity is a bigger threat than AI". They're not separate ideas. He says he is worried about how AI is being used more than the technology and technological development itself.

“With this in mind, artificial intelligence is a tool. It is an algorithm made by humans, that is run by computers made by humans, that controls machines made by humans. I am more afraid, more worried [about] national stupidity than artificial intelligence to be honest,” he added.

“I have a scientific background, so I definitely consider technology as neutral. The problem is the user, not the technology itself.”

[–] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately we all know how it will be used and who will benefit.

[–] Kissaki@feddit.de 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I don't think we do.

[–] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Kapital owners who will own AI as mean of production.

[–] Womble@lemmy.world -2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Can you tell me next weeks lottery numbers too?

That is the likely outcome but its by no means certain. If you'd have asked in 1800 its likely people would have said the aristocracy would get all the benefit from industrialisation but that ended up not being how things went

[–] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Sure, in the meaning that everything is uncertain.

[–] Womble@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

To say that you know something implies a very high level of certainty. I know that the sun will rise tomorrow morning, that I need air to breathe and water freezes at 0 degrees. No one "knows" how society will be shaped in 20 years time, so no we do not know how it will be used and who will benefit.

[–] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 2 points 7 months ago

Or, colloquially it's used to describe something you just expect to happen. It does not mean that one literally knows. Obviously it's more tricky with online communication since you don't know me and don't see my face.

[–] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

He has a point.

[–] SamsonSeinfelder@feddit.de -3 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Except that we as humans learned to handle stupidity for the last 5000 years. AI is only 5 years old. We need to learn to handle it.

[–] hydroptic@sopuli.xyz 17 points 7 months ago

Except that we as humans learned to handle stupidity for the last 5000 years.

This is pretty clearly not true

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I wouldn't really call the stupid situation "handled"...

It's more like we have no choice in the matter and must tolerate it.

[–] taladar@feddit.de 6 points 7 months ago

It is more like we have no choice in the matter and must hope it won't destroy our species before we find a way to make it less dangerous.

[–] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 2 points 7 months ago

AI is a tool, how it will be used is dependent on humans - I think that is what he is referring to. So rather close to what you say - but a bit different perspective.

[–] SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago

This may turn out to be an incredibly ironic statement

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I guess I can't argue with that. Probably because I'm one of the stupid people.

[–] corymbia@reddthat.com 1 points 7 months ago

Yeah he ain’t wrong.

[–] doublejay1999@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

An interesting take, from the missile builder.

[–] blazeknave@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Seriously.. find myself agreeing with some strange bedfellows lately