Learn, hack!

URL

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/attachments/1482_Here%20be%20Electric%20Dragons.pdf

File name

1482_Here%20be%20Electric%20Dragons.pdf

File size

17.3 MB

MD5

084bc3fae3865d467d63e0093779487a

SHA1

86dce65966b773f64618dab6e8b3f21eacdd9de0

Unnoticed by average Joe we are currently experiencing the advent of autonomous machines. This development will undoubtedly result in epochal change of our way of live. Naturally this has the potential to cause enormous problems. Two key issues will be how to tame the risks these autonomous machines pose and how to deal with the impact their wide proliferation will have on societies. A few years ago these questions were only important in science fiction. Today “killer” applications are no longer an academic topic. Now it is on us to start thinking about this questions and to preemptively develop new practices. Curiously, what might be a large part of the solution has already been central to the hacker community for decades: hacker ethic. This talk will address the following topics: Emancipation of Machines 3 distinct types of machine: (1) directly augments human capabilities (2) machines that augment other machines (3) autonomous machines Type 3 machines do not need constant human supervision and do not directly improve human capabilities Type 3 machines can be as simple as a clock A crossbow attached to a clockwork on a busy marketplace demonstrates the resulting problems Over the past years type 3 machines have become more numerous and will soon be commonplace Risk mitigation is only in its infancy: dangerous machines are separated from humans No convincing solutions for autonomous machines. Asimov’s Laws outdated by “killer” applications. A Social Contract for Machines Autonomous machines are technologically feasible but held back by other factors How risk can be moderated by a system approach implementing developer ethics in a new Archimedes oath How financial instruments can be created to price residual risk and create a social contract for machines From Protestant to Hacker Ethic How to mitigate one of the biggest consequences of type 3 machine proliferation: work Current situation Protestant work ethic Changed situation: unemployment the norm/mechanic slaves Solution: hacker ethic?