IF IT AIN'T ONE THING IT'S ANOTHER
There’s a Damn Good Chance AI Will Destroy Humanity, Researchers Say

Caroline Delbert - Yesterday

On the bright side, there are some things we can do to prevent that outcome... maybe.

© gremlin - Getty Images

Anew paper explains that we’ll have to be careful and thorough when programming future AI, or it could have dire consequences for humanity.

The paper lays out the specific dangers and the “assumptions” we can definitively make about a certain kind of self-learning, reward-oriented AI.

We have the tools and knowledge to help avoid some these problems—but not all of them—so we should proceed with caution.

In new research, scientists tackle one of our greatest future fears head-on: What happens when a certain type of advanced, self-directing artificial intelligence (AI) runs into an ambiguity in its programming that affects the real world? Will the AI go haywire and begin trying to turn humans into paperclips, or whatever else is the extreme reductio ad absurdum version of its goal? And, most importantly, how can we prevent it?

In their paper, researchers from Oxford University and Australian National University explain a fundamental pain point in the design of AI: “Given a few assumptions, we argue that it will encounter a fundamental ambiguity in the data about its goal. For example, if we provide a large reward to indicate that something about the world is satisfactory to us, it may hypothesize that what satisfied us was the sending of the reward itself; no observation can refute that.”

The Matrix is an example of a dystopian AI scenario, wherein an AI that seeks to farm resources gathers up most of humanity and pumps the imaginary Matrix into their brains, while extracting their mental resources. This is called “wireheading” or reward hacking—a situation in which an advanced AI is given a very literally-stated goal and finds an unintended way to fulfill it, by hacking the system or taking control over it entirely.

So basically, the AI becomes an ouroboros eating its own logical tail. The paper gets into a number of nitty-gritty examples of how specifically-programmed goals and incentives can clash in this way. It lists six major “assumptions” that, if not avoided, could lead to “catastrophic consequences.” But, thankfully, “Almost all of these assumptions are contestable or conceivably avoidable,” per the paper. (We don’t love that it says almost all.)

The paper acts as a heads-up about some structural problems that programmers should be aware of as they train AIs toward increasingly more complex goals.

An AI-Induced Paperclip Apocalypse

It’s hard to overstate just how important this kind of research is. There’s a major thought exercise in the field of AI ethics and philosophy about an AI run amok. The example cited above about paperclips isn’t a joke, or rather it’s not just a joke—AI philosopher Nick Bostrom came up with it to convey how creating a super-intelligent AI could go devastatingly wrong, and it’s since become a famous scenario.

Let’s say a well-meaning programmer makes an AI whose goal is to support the manufacture of paperclips at a factory. This is a very believable role for a near-future AI to have, something that requires judgment calls and analysis, but isn’t too open-ended. The AI could even work in conjunction with a human manager who would handle issues that happen in the manufacturing space in real time, as well as dictate the ultimate decision-making (at least until the AI finds a way to outsmart them). That sounds fine, right? It’s a good example of how AI could help streamline and improve the lives of industrial workers and their managers, even.

But what if the AI isn’t programmed with care? These super-intelligent AIs will operate in the real world, which is considered by programmers to be an “unknown environment,” because they can’t plan for and code in every possible scenario. The point of using these self-learning AIs in the first place is to have them devise solutions humans would never be able to think of alone—but that comes with the danger of not knowing what the AI might think up.

What if it starts to think of unorthodox ways to increase paperclip production? A super-intelligent AI might teach itself to make the most amount of paperclips by any means necessary.

What if it starts to absorb other resources in order to make them into paperclips, or decides to, um, replace its human manager? The example sounds funny in some ways—many experts weigh in with the opinion that AI will stay quite primitive for a relatively long time, without the ability to “invent” the idea of killing, or stealing, or worse. But if an intelligent and creative enough AI was given free rein, the absurd conclusion to the thought exercise is an entire solar system with no living humans, complete with a Dyson sphere to collect energy to make new paperclips by the billions.

But that’s just one scenario of an AI run amok, and the researchers explain in great detail other ways an AI could hack the system and work in potentially “catastrophic” ways that we never anticipated.

Some Possible Solutions

There’s a programming problem at play here, which is the nature of the assumptions the Oxford and Australian National University researchers have focused on in their paper. A system with no outside context must be really carefully prepared in order to do a task well and be given any amount of autonomy. There are logical structures and other programming concepts that will help to clearly define an AI’s sense of scope and purpose. A lot of these are the same tactics programmers use today to avoid errors, like infinite looping, that can crash software. It’s just that a misstep in an advanced future AI could cause a lot more damage than a lost game save.

All isn’t lost, though. AI is still something we make ourselves, and the researchers have pointed out concrete ways we can help to prevent adverse outcomes:

Opt for imitation learning, where AI works by imitating humans in a kind of supervised learning. This is a different kind of AI altogether and not as useful, but it may come with the same potential dangers.

Have AI prioritize goals that can be achieved in only a short period of time—known as “myopic”—instead of searching for unorthodox (and potentially disastrous) solutions over the long term.

Isolate the AI from outside networks like the internet, limiting how much information and influence it can acquire.

Use quantilization, an approach developed by AI expert Jessica Taylor, where AI maximizes (or optimizes) humanlike options rather than open-ended rational ones.

Code risk aversion into the AI, making it less likely to go haywire and throw out the status quo in favor of experimentation.

But it also boils down to the question of whether we could ever fully control a super-intelligent AI that’s able to think for itself. What if our worst nightmare comes true, and a sentient AI is given access to resources and a large network?

It’s scary to imagine a future where AI could start boiling human beings to extract their trace elements in order to make paperclips. But by studying the problem directly and in detail, researchers can lay out clear best practices for theoreticians and programmers to follow as they continue to develop sophisticated AI.

And really, who needs that many paperclips anyway?

Remains of 240 people found beneath Ocky White department store in Wales

Archaeologists found skeletal remains of over more than 240 people, from beneath a former department store in Pembrokeshire in Wales, UK among remnants of a medieval priory.

More than a hundred of them are children, the majority of whom are infants under the age of four. The bodies were unearthed at the site of the one-time Ocky Whites department store, closed since 2013 and now slated for redevelopment.

The discovery has been described as “hugely significant” by experts. They believe the site is that of a priory named St Saviour’s, which dates to about 1256.

In addition, experts who stated that about half of the remains belonged to children, pointed out that this was a reflection of the high mortality rates in the past.

Henry III gave the friars 10 marks to build a church in 1246, according to the earliest known account of the Dominican friary of St. Saviours in Haverfordwest. Ten years later, they received an additional 15 marks to relocate to a new location, where they constructed a larger friary. Over the years, St. Saviors received numerous gifts and bequests, but by the early 16th century, as was the case with many monastic communities, its finances were deteriorating. In 1526, it began renting out its lands, and in 1535, it began to accept tenants.

In the second round of monastic dissolutions, the friary saw its end. The forced visits, confiscations, and formal dissolutions that destroyed monasticism in England and Wales did not target more modest friaries like St. Saviors. By 1538, the goal was to persuade the last few settlements to voluntarily (?) hand over their homes to the Crown. On September 2, 1538, the eight remaining friars at St. Saviors signed the document, though the final signer appears to have changed his mind because his name is smudged off the document.

St. Saviours vanished from the landscape, leaving only names like Friars Lane and the Friars Vault pub in its wake. There were no historical records indicating its precise location, and the knowledge had faded over time. The discovery of the burial ground has contributed to the unraveling of the mystery.

It is thought to have comprised a complex of buildings including dormitories, a hospital, and stables, along with a graveyard that could have been used until the early 1700s.

Site supervisor Andrew Shobbrook, from Dyfed Archaeological Trust, told the BBC: “It’s quite a prestigious place to be buried. You have a range of people, from the wealthy to general townsfolk.”

Mr. Shobbrook added that the remains uncovered on the site show evidence of the type of injuries that might be sustained during battle.

He theorized some of the deceased could have been victims of a siege carried out on Haverfordwest in 1405 by French and Welsh rebels.

The remains are due to be analyzed by experts before being reinterred nearby.

By Leman Altuntaş13 October 2022

The oldest grave in northern Germany 10,500 years old

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known human remains in northern Germany in a 10,500-year-old cremation grave in Lüchow, Schleswig-Holstein.

The remains were discovered in the Duvensee bog, a prehistoric inland lake that contains more than 20 Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites.

The bog’s anaerobic environment preserves organic remains, including burned bones, but there was so little left that it wasn’t until the team discovered a human thigh bone that they were able to confirm they had discovered a burial.

Burials of hunter-gatherer-fisher people who lived in Europe during the early Mesolithic period are extremely rare. Mesolithic burials have previously been discovered in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia, but only from the Late Mesolithic period (7th-6th millennia B.C.). The only burial that was comparable in time was discovered in Jutland, Denmark. It, too, is a cremation burial, an indication that cremation may have been the preferred method of burial among Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

Archaeologists unearth the oldest burial site to date in northern Germany. Photo: Archäologisches Landesamt Schleswig-Holstein

Several bone fragments that were not completely charred were found during the excavation. Excavation director Harald Lübke hopes to recover archaeological DNA from them. The entire grave was raised in a soil block for additional excavation and laboratory study.

Archaeologists have been excavating Duvensee Moor since 1923 and have also discovered the shelter of Stone Age hunters and gatherers.

The oldest known North German raises a lot of questions. For example, according to the circumstances of death. In the case of burned bones, it is difficult to determine the cause of death, says Harald Lübke.

For archaeologists, the entire Duvenseer Moor is a hotspot. “We’ve only opened a new door here at the moment. But behind it, there are only dark rooms at the moment.” Due to their spectacular cremation find, they will probably continue digging there in the coming year.

By Leman Altuntaş14 October 2022

Drought unveils sunken basilica in Turkey

The sunken basilica remains discovered in 2014 became visible as a result of Lake Iznik’s water withdrawal.

Climate change is having an impact not only on the oceans but also on large inland lakes. Known as Askania in ancient times, Iznik Lake with a surface area of 298 km² and an altitude of 85 m; Turkey’s fifth is the largest lake in the Marmara Region. Lake Iznik is adversely affected by seasonal drought and presents an example of how a waterbody can and will change. Once a prominent structure on dry land covered by water in the subsequent centuries, an ancient basilica’s ruins rose up again in the lake recently.

The drawdown in the lake reached up to 50 meters and it also affected the basilica area 20 meters offshore and 1.5 – 2 meters deep.

This ancient basilica in Bursa was built around A.D. 4 on the shore of the lake beside the city of Nicaea, which is known as Iznik today. However, it was destroyed in an earthquake in A.D. 8 and later became submerged as the lake level changed. The submerged basilica was cited among the most significant discoveries in 2014 in the world. The basilica is predicted to have been built in honor of Saint Neophytos. It was most likely the site of the first Nicaea Ecumenical Council, according to archaeologists.

Photo: AA

Taylan Sevil, the former director of the İznik Museum, told Anadolu Agency that a large part of the basilica has now re-emerged and merged with the lakeside.

The sunken basilica that was discovered in 2014 has recently become visible as a result of Lake Iznik’s water levels dropping, according to Taylan Sevil. Sevil also emphasized the basilica’s historical significance in terms of archaeology.

Sevil added that the historical basilica is one of the most significant discoveries of the century in the annals of world archaeology. Due to the low water levels brought on by climate change, the basilica, which was once submerged in the lake but has since merged with the landscape, is now accessible on foot.

Archaeologists recently uncovered important finds in the sunken basilica. You can read the latest developments by clicking the link below.

By Leman Altuntaş14 October 2022

Archaeologists discover one of the largest Phallus Relief Carving of ancient Rome

According to an announcement by the region’s local history museum, a large Roman-era relief carving of a phallus has been unearthed by archaeologists excavating at Nueva Carteya in Córdoba, Spain on August 19.

Amulets and phallic representations were popular in ancient Rome because they were thought to be good luck symbols and heralds of favorable omens. They were associated with natural fecundity in Pagan religions, and the phallic symbols represented the fertility god Fascinus, warding off the “evil eye.” Although these phalluses were common in homes and military camps at the time, the size of the recently discovered phallus was not.

Over 18 inches (0.5 meters) long, the bas-relief phallus was discovered in El Higuerón, carved on a cornerstone of a large building that is currently being excavated. It could be the largest preserved Roman phallus carving, according to archaeologists.

Excavation of the site atop a wooded hillock in El Higuerón. Photo: AYUNTAMIENTO DE NUEVA CARTEYA

El Higuerón is an Iberian settlement first occupied in the 4th century BC until the Roman conquest of the region around 206 BC.

However, despite the spectacular find, the building where the large penis was carved is the most significant part of the archaeological excavation. Professor Andrés María Adroher Auroux is leading a group of archaeologists from the University of Granada (Spain) that is part of a larger team of experts from the Historical Museum of Nueva Carteya and the Center for Archaeological Research of Southeastern Spain (Centro de Estudios de Arqueología Bastetana ). Their goal is to investigate and excavate this old Roman building that was placed over an even older Iberian settlement. Its strong, terraced walls once held up a tower-shaped structure whose purpose is still a mystery.

The first walled Iberian settlement from the fifth century BC was found during the initial excavations carried out in this region of gently rolling hills and olive groves in the middle of the 1960s. The pre-existing settlement was later destroyed by the Roman conquest, and the tower-shaped building, measuring 65 by 55 feet (20 by 17 meters), was built on its ruins.

Aerial view of the excavation site at El Higuerón. Photo: AYUNTAMIENTO DE NUEVA CARTEYA

The majority of the area’s unearthed structures are described in a 1970 paper on local fortified precincts by Javier Fortea and Juan Bernier, which makes an inference that these buildings may have been used by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who led his army through southern Iberia at the end of the third century BC. The results of more recent research, however, clearly show that they have Roman roots.

The archaeologists describe the structure at El Higuerón as a “monumental Roman building” with perimeter walls six feet thick (1.8 meters) made of large limestone blocks.

Cover Photo: Ancient Roman phallus relief carving found in Nueva Carteya, Córdoba, Spain, 2022. MUSEO HISTÓRICO LOCAL DE NUEVA CARTEYA

Scenes from Troy: Roman-era mosaic discovered in Syria

A largely intact mosaic was uncovered in Rastan near Homs. Rich in details, it shows scenes of the Trojan War and is about 1,600 years old.

The most recent archeological find in Syria

The mosaic is "not the oldest of its kind, but it is the most complete and rare," Humam Saad, who is in charge of excavations and archaeological studies in Syria at the General Directorate of Museums and Antiquities, said Wednesday. He added that there is "no other like it." Among other things, it shows scenes of the Trojan War.

The mosaic, about 20 meters long and six meters wide (66 x 20 feet), was found under a building in Rastan, a city in the northern Syrian governorate of Homs. Rastan, a rebel stronghold, saw fierce fighting in the Syrian war. In 2018, Homs was recaptured by the Syrian government after years of civil war.

The mosaic also portrays Neptune, the ancient Roman god of the sea, and 40 of his mistresses.

Plans to continue excavations

Part of the mosaic was reportedly discovered under a house several years ago, while opposition members were digging tunnels during the civil war.

The site, which dates back to the 4th century, was donated to the Syrian government after being bought by Syrian and Lebanese businessmen with ties to the Nabu Museum in neighboring Lebanon.

There might be more to discover underneath the neighboring buildings

Archaeologist Saad told news agency AP, "We can't identify the type of the building, whether it's a public bathhouse or something else, because we have not finished excavating yet."

There is speculation that the mosaic may actually be larger still, with trustees from the Nabu Museum voicing hope that they will be able to purchase other buildings in Rastan with an eye to securing further heritage sites.  

Archaeological finds endangered in Syria

During the civil war, many important archaeological sites in Syria were destroyed and looted. The oasis city of Palmyra is the best-known example: The terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) blew up the 2,000-year-old cultural monuments of Palmyra because they saw them as buildings of "infidels."

But some rebels also sought to cash in on such items of cultural value. Syrian archaeologist Saad told the Associated Press that rebels had tried to sell parts of the mosaic illicitly online in recent years.

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that

 dates back to the Roman era

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era, in the central town of Rastan, describing it as the most important archaeological discovery since the conflict began 11 years ago.

The mosaic, which shows ancient Amazon warriors, 120 square meters (around 1,300sq ft), was found in an old building that was under excavation by Syria’s general directorate of antiquities and museums.

The property, which dates back to the 4th century, was purchased by Lebanese and Syrian businessmen from the neighboring country’s Nabu Museum and donated to the Syrian state. Each panel was filled with square-shaped, small, colorful stones about a half-inch on each side.

Dr. Humam Saad, Associate Director of Excavation and Archaeological Research at Syria’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, said the mosaic shows the Ancient Amazon warriors as portrayed in Roman mythology.

A detail of a large mosaic that dates back to the Roman era is seen in the town of Rastan, Syria. OMAR SANADIKI/AP

In Ancient Greek and Roman mythology, the demigod hero Hercules killed Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, in one of his 12 labors. The mosaic also portrays Neptune, the Ancient Roman god of the sea, and 40 of his mistresses.

“What is in front of us is a discovery that is rare on a global scale,” Saad told The Associated Press, adding that the images are “rich in details,” and includes scenes from the Trojan War between the Greeks and Trojans.

“We can’t identify the type of the building, whether it’s a public bathhouse or something else, because we have not finished excavating yet,” Saad told the AP.

Sulaf Fawakherji, a famous actress in Syria and a member of the Nabu Museum’s board of trustees said she hopes they could purchase other buildings in Rastan, which she says is filled with heritage sites and artifacts waiting to be discovered.
“There are other buildings, and it’s clear that the mosaic extends far wider,” Fawkherji told the AP.

One side of the mosaic panel discovered in Rastan, Homs (AFP)

“Rastan historically is an important city, and it could possibly be very important heritage city for tourism.”

Over the past ten years of ongoing, violent conflict, Syrian heritage sites have been looted and destroyed. The Islamic State group captured Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site with 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts, and partially destroyed a Roman theater.

After seizing it from armed opposition forces in 2016, Syria’s cash-strapped government has been slowly rebuilding Aleppo’s centuries-old bazaar. Before the Syrian government reclaimed the city in 2018, Rastan was a significant opposition stronghold and the scene of violent clashes.

Cover Photo: People look at a large mosaic that dates back to the Roman era in the town of Rastan, Syria. 

OMAR SANADIKI

By oguz kayra12 October 2022

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ALCHEMY 

The 3,200-year-old perfume of Tapputi, the first female chemist in history, came to life again

One of the scent formulas written in Akkadian on clay tablets by Tapputi, known as the world’s first female perfumer and first female chemist in Mesopotamia 3,200 years ago, has been recreated.

A team of 15 experts, including academics, carried out studies to uncover the 3200-year-old formula.

Tapputi is considered to be the first registered chemist in the world, a perfume manufacturer mentioned on a cuneiform tablet dated around 1200 BC in Mesopotamia. Tapputi is referred to as Tapputi-Belatekallim (“Belatekallim” refers to the female overseer of a palace) on tablets.

In her mixtures, according to the clay tablets Tapputi recorded, Tapputi used flowers, oil, and calamus, along with cyperus, myrrh, and balsam. She mixed it with water or other solvents before distilling and filtering it multiple times.

In this study, conducted in collaboration with Koku Akademisi ve Koku Kültürü Derneği (Smell Academy and Scent Culture Association), the data that shed light on that period were reached as a result of the formulas that Tapputi wrote on a clay tablet in cuneiform.

Akkadian cuneiform tablet in which Tapputi, the first female perfumer in history, gave 3,200 years of perfume formula and making information. Photo: Wikipedia

Fragrance Expert Bihter Türkan Ergül said, “There was some information about Tapputi on clay tablets written in Akkadian. We could find answers to questions such as how it makes the smell, how it performs the distillation process, and how it reaches the liquid fragrance substances in these tablets. Each cuneiform on the tablet gave us a different excitement. The real-time travel was to be able to smell that scent as a result of the work.”

Fragrance Expert Bihter Türkan Ergül, who works with a team of 15 experts in total, said that they have been working for 3 years to bring this fragrance to light.

Mentioning that there are hundreds of tablets on the fragrance that have been unearthed so far, Ergül stated that some of them have been translated and they are continuing to work on the rest. Ergül also made the following statements about the clay tablet written by Tapputi:

Fragment expert Bihter Türkan Ergül. Photo: DHA

“In the scent formulas on the clay tablets, information such as how Tapputi made his transactions in the full moon and how he presented it to the stars one by one. In other words, it is written not only in the formula but also in the way the fragrance is made. How he distilled it, how he used fire and water, how he rested it, how he brewed it, and how he filtered it, are included in the tablet, down to the smallest detail. A total of 27 pages of translation came out of the small two tablets. It took pages to interpret. Such a wealth of information comes out of the cuneiform in such a small tablet. Here, lemon balm, myrrh, rose, and botanical plants are mentioned. Each cuneiform of this gave us a different excitement. The real-time travel was to be able to smell it at the end of the job. After this project is finished, we are left with 11 clay tablets. I don’t know if my life, in the end, will be enough to produce them, but a great effort awaits us in order to keep the scent culture alive and bring it to light again.”

Associate Professor Doctor Cenker Attila: There are two tablets in the world where the name “Tapputi” is mentioned

Stating that Tapputi uses all kinds of plants and substances such as flowers, tree resins, spices, and horseradish in the production of perfumes, Associate Professor Cenker Atila, who is an expert on ancient perfumes, ceramics, and glass works, Said, that there are only 2 tablets in the world where the name Tapputi is mentioned.

One of them is in the Louvre Museum in Paris and the other in the Girl Museum in Germany. The tablet found in the Louvre states that Tapputi was a royal perfumer and was called Belatekallim -refers to the female overseer of a palace-. We have more information on the tablet in Germany. Unfortunately, half of the tablet is mostly broken. Despite this, we learn how Tapputi works with a female assistant whose name ends with -ninu and how he distills perfumes.

Stating that there are two important problems they encountered in the translation of the tablets, Atila said, “One of them is that the tablets were broken and some important parts were lost. The second difficulty is that some plants and containers used 3200 years ago do not have the exact equivalent. For example, we do not know exactly what the “hirsu” vessel is. However, since it is used in the perfume distillation process, it should be a container like a flower pot. In addition, the fact that we do not know the current names of some spices and flowers used in perfume production appears an important problem”.