Echoborg

An Echoborg is a person whose words and actions are determined, in whole or in part, by artificial intelligence. The outsourcing of decisions. My wife and I participated in a discussion panel with an Echoborg designed to do hiring interviews. Our group's goal was different. To try get the Echoborg to discuss how people and AI could work best together. In some ways, companies are like Echoborgs. We talk of them as people because they act through people. There is the pretence of an agreement between people in the employment contract (but one is just a legal person). The challenge our group faced was speaking with/arguing with the Echoborg as if it was a real person, because it spoke through a real person. The most echocult like of companies aim to only develop talent from inside the manufactured club, not hire outside, and have a revolving door where people who leave are no longer welcome. These companies are not real people, even if we anthropomorphise them. The key is to remember companies serve us, and we are all part of a bigger container. Companies are merely useful devices that serve a (temporary) purpose. It is the people, both inside and outside, that matter and to whom we owe our loyalty.

Don't Ask Jason

Jason would be my first call if I needed help burying a body. He would ask no questions. This is not a public confession of intent, or guilt. It is just as suggestion. If you suspect me of murder, don’t ask Jason if I did it. Loyalty is hard wired into us as a way of defeating mortality. We learn through death. Which is why Max Planck said, “Science progresses one funeral at a time”. It is much harder to unlearn than to learn. Death is a communal feature rather than a glitch. The Curse of Knowledge is that knowing one thing can make it harder to know, or even see, another. What we know is Path Dependent. The set of decisions people face is limited (or increased) by decisions made in the past. Hereditary Privilege is a feature. We care that the next generation will have more options. Loyalty means we can see and protect the good, even in the face of bad. Even very bad. It is also a glitch if it restricts the options of others. Removing structural bias means universally raising the basic options we all have. Having foundational loyalty to all.

History Matters