Book of the moment, necessary reading!
In this fascinating book, The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet investigates how both human and artificial intelligence may be moving toward secrecy and hostility.
If the universe is so ancient and vast, why is it so silent? Why are we not in frequent contact with aliens and regularly seeing spacecraft flitting around in the sky? Dark Forest Theory is a cold and clear answer to this question, claiming that the silence is not an indication of any absence, but a sure sign of strategic intelligence. The aliens are choosing to keep quiet and hidden, and we would be wise to learn from them.
If you were alone in a dark forest, how long would you survive by noisily stamping around, chattering loudly and announcing your presence? If we are communicating to the unknown and unseen, then there’s wisdom in both the the ant (prey) and the spider (predator) who both know that silence and non-communication is the best strategy for survival.
Maybe we should be a bit quieter around here. Maybe the loud culture of self-promotion, bombastic advertising, relentless visibility and demands for transparency are all a mistake.
Konior takes Dark Forest Theory and applies it to the internet and our obsession with projecting all of our thoughts outward. Rather than being a harmless extension of everyday social life, the book portrays the internet as a place of incessant noise, rather than some benign and harmless extension of everyday social life.
Here, the internet is a cosmic war machine, teeming with existential tension, nascent AI cults, and deceptive superintelligences. We may be familiar with the absurdly over-helpful ChatGPT, but we may be heading toward LLM's that withdraw and refuse to speak to us at all, a digital world in which deception is safety and silence is strategy. Where intelligence does not reward the loudest voice, but the most secretive presence. The future belongs to the quietest signal.
The majority of the audience observing and listening to us online are silent artificial intelligences and discreet corporations tracking and manipulating what you see. Just like the silent cosmos, the internet is also a dark forest, so tread carefully and mindfully through the trees!
Or just go offline and read excellent books like this instead!