Future of Life Institute’s Ridiculous Reply To Their Luddite Award

Future of Life Institute (FLI) gave a hilarious and pathetic reply to the luddite award they received, proclaiming their opinions belong to leading AI researchers.

Who are on their board? Leading AI researchers? I do not believe so. Stuart Russell is probably suffering from some delusions of grandeur. He worked on some GOFAI (Good Old Fashioned AI) methods back in the day, and wrote part of a popular textbook. That certainly does not mean he is a leading AI researcher now, especially after backing up these fear-mongers, and AI eschatology profiteers. Leading AI research is usually considered general-purpose machine learning methods nowadays.

I had explained on my blog how little AI expertise their board (and advisors) have. 

This self-congratulating and self-promoting nonsense is not an adequate response to the luddite award they received. They should feel humiliated, and they should review what was so wrong with their attitude and claims, instead of claiming that only they know what is right. The award they received was a kind warning that they were being idiots by their actions. They should take it to heart, we have been saying they are luddites for a long time, after all. Perhaps, it is not easy for them to accept their actions were foolish, and their organization does not have a proper reason to exist, and that they are basically wasting people's money and time with pseudo-scientific nonsense. For the logical conclusion of this award is dismantling their petty, superstitious organization, and end their irrational doomsaying campaign about AI research.