The Labyrinth of Knowledge - On AI Knowledge Drain
There are a lot of issues to be called out around AI, but one that has recently begun to worry me the most isn’t ethical, moral, or even environmental. Rather, its practical.
Once upon a time, the villages and towns were full of worker’s guilds. If a young man or woman wanted to pursue a career of interest, they would find themselves spending hours hanging on the elbows of conversations between persons of import and expertise. If they were brave, they might venture to speak up and ask a question, enduring the good natured ridicule of the absurdity of their inquiry. A master of the art, taking pity on the young acolyte, might then take the fledgling under their wing and begin to educate them in the crafts. As the guild grew, so did its libraries. Knowledge filled the shelves as scribes recorded the decisions of the masters and the outcomes of decision making and debate. Factions formed within the guilds around these decisions, but overall, the discussions were lively and well-intentioned.
One day a poster was found hanging in the town square, an announcement to all the young men and women. There existed a great labyrinth in a far off land where guilds were no longer needed, and the young master could find not just the guild of their town, but guilds populated by the masters of one thousand towns. And even better, the labyrinth hosted guilds of a nature far beyond what the young masters could have dreamed. All manner of esoteric knowledge could be found within the labyrinth. And so the guilds of town and village began to empty. No longer were halls filled with joyous debate and camaraderie. The young masters streamed into the walled gardens of the labyrinth. And being caught up in the infectious excitement (and folly) of the youth, some of the old masters left for the labyrinth as well. While some sat in empty halls, hoping that a young mind might wander in the door, waiting to be wounded. Rather often the case, the halls suffered the creep of time, becoming tombs as they fell in on the old masters, and the town soon forgot their names and their bones lying beneath the rubble.
As the census of the labyrinth was taken, it was soon discovered that the whole of the persons of the kingdom were now contained within the labyrinth. And not just this kingdom, but guilds men from far off kingdoms, having heard tale, began to appear and fill the labyrinth as well. And as the guilds continued to hone their craft, and to train their acolytes, and to continue their debates, the scribes continued to write. And as they wrote, the libraries of the labyrinth began to fill with vast knowledge, far surpassing that ever collected in the guilds before.
All was well in the labyrinth for some time, offering a moment of comfortable peace, though aren’t all traps tranquil before the catch springs shut?
One day as the armorers and blacksmiths were working, they received a strange notice from the creator of the labyrinth. And though they’d never met the creators, nor seen them for that matter, they assumed the creators to be benevolent. After all, they’d created the labyrinth and allowed the guilds to inhabit it at no cost. Never the less, the creators had offered a strange decree. Armorers and blacksmiths were no longer welcome within the labyrinth. The weapons of war and protection had been deemed dangerous to the inhabitants of the labyrinth, and could no longer be discussed amongst the guild. Further, the knowledge of the decisions and designs of the armorers and blacksmiths guilds would be purged, without judgment, from the archives of the labyrinth.
This enraged the guild. Had they not built their homes here? Were not the villages and towns void of postulants? How could the guilds survive outside the labyrinth. Regardless, a small faction of the armorers and blacksmiths determined to leave the place, taking their tools and expertise with them. Approaching the creators, the separatist demanded access to the archives and to be allowed to leave peaceably. But the creators refused, and being powerless, the group, defeated leaving the knowledge of their craft behind.
Setting out, the separatist traveled across hill and dale. Soon discovering that there were no other guilds to join and no one to join their guilds, the group accepted their fate and returned to the labyrinth. Thus serving as a warning to any other guilds who might choose to leave.
And this made the creators quite ecstatic. They were now sole owners of knowledge in the land.. And wasn’t it immensely valuable? And would someone surely pay for it!
So, the creators of the labyrinth bided their time. And on an occasion a council of wizards arrived, promising to bring about an oracle that could answer the depths of all human inquiry, if only they could feed it such knowledge. The labyrinth creators lept at the opportunity to sell their spoils. And rumor preceded the wizards, that had they not, the wizards would have taken what they desired, by fanfare or force.
And so it was, as the guilds toiled and built, the great oracle of the wizards watched and consumed. Growing ever larger on the archives of the labyrinth. And as the inhabitants of the labyrinth worked, they began to inquire of the oracle. First in matters of import, then in the mundane, and finally in the inane. No longer visiting the archives, rather whispering all inquiries to the oracle, and for a copper, gaining secret knowledge in return.
And it occurred, that as the oracle grew, the masters solely debated and discussed with none but the oracle. And as the young masters stopped inquiring of the old, it was soon discovered that their was very little need of the scribes. As their was no need for scribes in a land where no one visits the archives, and no decisions are made, and no debates had. Rather, let them away.
But one day, long after the last of the old masters was lain to rest, the unthinkable happened. An inquiry was made of the oracle, but no answer came. For the archives had long since been closed, the scribes sent away, and the master buried. And having no knowledge of its own, the oracle could not impart new knowledge, or reason a better path. So having no hope, and no knowledge of their own, the guild began to crumble.
But a hope soon sprang up among the people. Rumors held that a place existed far off without oracle or wizard. A place of strong kings and strong workers who had resisted the dangers of the labyrinth, and having no great body of knowledge had made do with the knowledge of the masters they possessed. And so it was that the guilds left the oracle and the labyrinth and began to return to their homes and lands. And the great halls were excavated, and the columns hoisted, and the bones of the old masters interred with reverence for their wisdom.
And now sits a great reminder to the land, though some still venture into the labyrinth, seeking, the garden walls have long crumbled and only the most deranged of the wizards remain, babbling nonsensical things to the oracle who answers no one anew.
AI Training
For years, tech commentators have long lamented the disappearance of online spaces dedicated to specific hobbies or niche areas of interests. Mirroring worker’s guilds of old, forums, webrings, and IRC channels held individuals and records of discourse spanning decades of knowledge and expertise.
But as monetization of the web and its services became the norm, labors of love like the niche forum, began to be swallowed up by the walled gardens of the post-dotcom consolidation of the web. Instead of visiting a single site dedicated to a single topic, users could sign up for a single site that held specialized communities on any number of subjects. And if you wanted to host a community of individuals around a specific topic, why not do it here? Everyone else is already here! And there’s no cost! And it doesn’t require expertise! (Let the reader understand, the cost has been immense.)
Companies were more than happy to lock-in their victims customers and host their bespoke underwater basket weaving group as long as it meant more eyes on more ads. And as the community for bespoke underwater basket weaving grew, the old ways died, and the new comers continued to enter the labyrinth. And inside the labyrinth, minions picked up every scrap of conversation, discourse, debate, and expertise. And one day, it was found that no one outside the labyrinth knew anything about aqueous basket creation. So anyone who would want to know, must venture into the labyrinth.
And like our story, those controlling the labyrinths of Facebook, Reddit, Tack Exchange, and the like, have been more than happy to feed the beast that is AI. And as AI is accepted by more and more people, more and more people inquire of the AI behind high gates where their inquiries can’t be known, and the wisdom of the group can’t impose itself on the reasoning of the AI or the requester.
This is leading to a situation where the AI at some point will have no additional or unique thought by which to advance human understanding. And no walled gardens full of debates and discussions to draw from. Inherently locking the AIs into the data that they currently have.
So the question stands? What will we do when the AI has no new knowledge to train from? When the bulk of what’s being produced is just drivel from the deranged mind of the AI?
A Solution
Much like our story the guild halls of old still exist, and better, if they don’t, we know how to build them. We can be the separatist but not return defeated. Take up the mantel and build a better world. Run your blog. Host your forum. Participate in the Federated and algorithmless spaces.