Part 6/14:
Why Humans Are Not as Dangerous as Superintelligence: Constraints and Energy
Shapiro examines why humans, despite being unpredictable and sometimes dangerous, tend not to pose existential threats like superintelligent AI potentially could. The primary reasons are physical and energetic constraints—humans have limited or finite resources such as time, processing capacity, and energy.
For example, the human brain operates on about 20 watts of power, whereas even the most energy-efficient supercomputers consume millions of watts. This vast energy gap means that, at least for now, machines cannot outpace humans in raw processing power or speed, which is critical in scenarios involving rapid AI takeovers.