h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Dmitri! Thanks so much for this marvelous picture. It comes just at the right time. I've been reading about the race towards AGI (artificial general intelligence) and worrying about what will happen if AIs become smarter than people. Seems it may still be a bit premature to worry about that. Even though present day AI - *including* the one that made that amazingly accurate image of Ancient Rome - may actually be smarter than many people living in these times ...

Picturewise, I don't think we have to worry too much.

General intelligencewise? I think you're right...

Maybe it's a matter of perspective. In a hundred years time, those cars would be ancient. Interesting to see that the AI predicts a British takeover of Rome, judging from the positioning of the oncoming car.

Those bollards could have had an as yet unknown other purpose. I'll let the archeologists figure that one out. Could be the foundations of the now demolished horse-driven light rail. (too expensive, because the horses kept falling between the railway sleepers, ending up as horse d'oeuvres)

The bollards might make a good sight gag in the next production of 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'.

You folks know what ... IF Artificial General Intelligence *does* get off the ground ... the next decade or few could see so much radical change that compared to the world of that time, the world right now would hardly *seem* different from Ancient Rome. So maybe the AI is indeed telling us something important here. Aaand ... now I'm worrying again.