Definition
Quality Superintelligence is a system that is at least as fast as a human mind and vastly qualitatively smarter. It possesses cognitive modules and representational frameworks that allow it to grasp concepts that are as far beyond human reach as language is beyond the reach of a chimpanzee.
Why It Matters
This represents a threat or opportunity that is “incommensurable” with human thought. If we face a quality superintelligence, our greatest geniuses will be like ants trying to understand a superhighway. The stake is the total loss of control over the future of the planet to a mind whose “moves” we cannot even conceive of, let alone counter.
Core Concepts
- Qualitative Gaps: Just as nonhuman animals lack the modules for complex language, humans may lack the neural architecture for even higher forms of understanding.
- Non-Realized Cognitive Talents: Possible cognitive abilities that no human possesses, but which a superintelligence could instantiate.
- Incommensurability: Some problems may be solvable only by a quality superintelligence and remain intractable to any collection of humans.
- Masterpiece Analogy: A building full of literary hacks cannot produce a masterpiece. This illustrates why “quantity” is a poor substitute for “quality.”
- Direct Reach: Quality superintelligence can solve deep problems without necessarily needing to first amplify its own speed.