If I were to paraphrase the comparison, it might be something like:
"An AI is some constructed entity which, starting with a goal, uses its intelligence to make changes to the world in order to bring that goal to fruition. One of the things about AI that is worrying is that its system-of-values might have no relation whatsoever to those possessed by human beings, and the best way for it to accomplish its goals might be to do things that most people would consider quite nasty. AI systems that are trying to maximize something are in constant tension with the laws that we put in place to try to keep them from steamrolling over everything in pursuit of their goals. Corporations fit the bill, under the assumption that the goal is 'maximize shareholder value'."
While a nest of ants or a swarm of bees certainly exhibit interesting emergent behavior, perhaps even collective intelligence, they 1). aren't constructed and 2). don't have clear goals.
You could argue that smaller groups of people fit the bill too, I guess. Maybe the difference is that corporations tend to have distinct goals which outlive their members, and that they have special recognition under the law as independent entities. Not sure.
Bees and alors have a clear goal. To survive and thrive. Which is very similar to a company's actual goals. How they do it is ever changing. Corporations dont survive by making the same product for hundreds of years, so whatever subgoal they have keeps changing as well.
"An AI is some constructed entity which, starting with a goal, uses its intelligence to make changes to the world in order to bring that goal to fruition. One of the things about AI that is worrying is that its system-of-values might have no relation whatsoever to those possessed by human beings, and the best way for it to accomplish its goals might be to do things that most people would consider quite nasty. AI systems that are trying to maximize something are in constant tension with the laws that we put in place to try to keep them from steamrolling over everything in pursuit of their goals. Corporations fit the bill, under the assumption that the goal is 'maximize shareholder value'."
While a nest of ants or a swarm of bees certainly exhibit interesting emergent behavior, perhaps even collective intelligence, they 1). aren't constructed and 2). don't have clear goals.
You could argue that smaller groups of people fit the bill too, I guess. Maybe the difference is that corporations tend to have distinct goals which outlive their members, and that they have special recognition under the law as independent entities. Not sure.