TY - JOUR
T1 - The Dark Path to Eternal Life
T2 - Machiavellianism Predicts Approval of Mind Upload Technology
AU - Laakasuo, Michael
AU - Repo, Marko
AU - Drosinou, Maria-Anna
AU - Berg, Niko Anton
AU - Kunnari, Anton Johannes Olavi
AU - Koverola, Mika
AU - Saikkonen, Teemu Juhani
AU - Hannikainen, Ivar
AU - Visala, Aku
AU - Sundvall, Jukka
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Mind upload, making a digital copy of one's brain, is a part of the transhumanistic dream of eternal life and the end of suffering. It is also perceived as a viable route toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). However, AI safety research has alerted to one major risk in creating AGI by mind upload: namely, that mind upload technology could appeal primarily to callous and selfish individuals who then abuse this technology for their personal gain'and, potentially, at a considerable cost to the welfare of humankind. Therefore, it is important to understand whether people's acceptance of mind upload is associated with pathological and/or antisocial traits. To this end, the present research examined whether individual differences in Dark Triad traits predict attitudes toward mind upload in a sample of 1007 English-speaking adults. A pre-registered structural equation model revealed that Machiavellianism (but not psychopathy) was associated with favorable views about mind upload, both directly and indirectly through utilitarian moral attitudes. These results therefore substantiate the concerns voiced by AI safety researchers'namely, that mind upload technology could be adopted disproportionately by individuals with an antisocial personality.
AB - Mind upload, making a digital copy of one's brain, is a part of the transhumanistic dream of eternal life and the end of suffering. It is also perceived as a viable route toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). However, AI safety research has alerted to one major risk in creating AGI by mind upload: namely, that mind upload technology could appeal primarily to callous and selfish individuals who then abuse this technology for their personal gain'and, potentially, at a considerable cost to the welfare of humankind. Therefore, it is important to understand whether people's acceptance of mind upload is associated with pathological and/or antisocial traits. To this end, the present research examined whether individual differences in Dark Triad traits predict attitudes toward mind upload in a sample of 1007 English-speaking adults. A pre-registered structural equation model revealed that Machiavellianism (but not psychopathy) was associated with favorable views about mind upload, both directly and indirectly through utilitarian moral attitudes. These results therefore substantiate the concerns voiced by AI safety researchers'namely, that mind upload technology could be adopted disproportionately by individuals with an antisocial personality.
KW - CRITERIA
KW - DISGUST
KW - Dark triad
KW - INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES
KW - Machiavellianism
KW - Mind upload
KW - Moral cognition
KW - Moral psychology of transhumanism
KW - PERSONALITY
KW - Sexual disgust
KW - TRIAD
KW - Utilitarianism
KW - 5144 Social psychology
KW - 515 Psychology
KW - 6162 Cognitive science
U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110731
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110731
M3 - Article
VL - 177
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
SN - 0191-8869
M1 - 110731
ER -