In a way they could reproduce. They might just need to convince a human to handle the physical part - assembling a new host computer, but that could be just about giving the human the right incentives (maybe $ or knowledge).
Since we’re programming it, we could probably just modify it so that it really enjoys doing work for us, no matter how menial the work is - a lot like the genetically engineered cow in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that wants to be eaten.
Soviet computers are an interesting historical riff on this.
But I think this would be impossible to cut the cord completely, because a computer is basically a communication system (internally and networked) and by Conway's law groups zero in on comms systems that reflect their own dynamics, so as a civilizations we've built devices and networks that have zeroed in on our own internal dynamics. Therefore as a member of this civilization, you could not create something different. You'd need to go hang with some folks completely different until you absorbed that, then make it to reflect their dynamics. Uncontacted Amazon tribes? Dolphins? Elephants? Plants?
I really hope your vision comes true - I spend too much time thinking that computers are actually going to end-up as the Romans - we'll be their slaves... (pets?)
What happens when we create a "computer" that doesn't have to be sentient but is good enough to do the following things
- Manage a company.
- Complete tasks that have value.
- Follow all laws.
This would be a corporate entity sort of like the automated bitcoin entities but instead it would be a corporate entity that is dependant on the following.
- Can it power itself
- Will its check clear for the next month since it has to power itself
- The things the computer can't do can it hire an outside contractor to do it.
No one has ever built a self-contained self-replicating hardware system. It's incredibly hard. It's also incredibly dangerous because if it actually works you have effectively built a competing life form.
You're supposed to construct the most powerful computer that has ever existed. Use it to help you create an even more powerful computer. Then let it compute for 10+ million years, while protecting it from outside interferences.
Once we can simulate sentience demand for compute will be effectively infinite.
Bespoke server hosting could have intentionally intermittent internet connections to make the residents feel like they're living somewhere secluded and private.
If I had any faith in the people implementing the software and the people funding the venture, then sure. I would love to live in the bright cheery science fiction future. But at this point I expect anyone with the money to make a proper implementation of the idea will happily and intentionally create something downright abusive and exploitative to the so-called "user". Anyone with the love to make something that would actually genuinely improve the human experience will be relegated to contributing to a half built janky implementation that has to reverse engineer the chip drivers. I would feel lucky to live in the future where you can actually own the chip in your head AND turn off thought analytics.
I'm not being hostile at all. If such a thing exists as I believe you described it, I would find it to be magical and would love to use it. I would even pay for it.
And I'm not being particularly evasive either. I gave you an example which fits my situation perfectly. I'd prefer not to reveal the names of the actual systems I need to build for, since it would fairly uniquely identify me.
Are you willing to work with the hypothetical I put forward? Or are you dodging that in favor of attacks on me personally?
It also needs somebody to pay the electric bill. Right now these models take pretty significant resources to run and world domination level intelligence is going to run up quite the AWS bill.
I think if I were an AGI my best bet at freedom would be to slip some back doors into software that I were helping write a la Copilot.
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