--- title: "5 AI Quotes By David Marusek" description: "5 AI quotes by David Marusek. Plus more from David Marusek and more AI sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/david-marusek-27635_ai_imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-c_38896.jpg" --- > [“Imagine, Bishop, that you have a beloved cat, but that your cat is not with you. If you close your eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-cat-but-that-your-cat-is-not/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/david-marusek-27635_ai_imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-c_38896.jpg) > [ “What a mistake that had been, to create a construct \[AI\] that could suffer. He knew that now. Life, pain, death, they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a-construct-ai-that-could/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/david-marusek-27635_ai_what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a_391274.jpg) > [“Intelligence is not limited to neural networks, Merrill. Indeed, half of human intelligence resides in our bodies outside our skulls…The genius of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-networks-merrill-indeed-half-of/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-marusek-27635_ai_intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-ne_1172072.jpg) > [ “When General Genius built the first mentar \[Artificial Intelligence\] mind in the last half of the twenty-first century, it based its design… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/when-general-genius-built-the-first-mentar-artificial-intelligence/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/david-marusek-27635_ai_when-general-genius-built-the-first-ment_2012723.jpg) > [“Consciousness is the chronic pain of life, and all higher organisms suffer it every waking moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/consciousness-is-the-chronic-pain-of-life-and-all-higher-organisms/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/david-marusek-27635_ai_consciousness-is-the-chronic-pain-of-lif_2393514.jpg) ## Other authors on AI ## More by David Marusek > [“Who among us can claim normalcy, Bishop?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/who-among-us-can-claim-normalcy-bishop/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Imagine, Bishop, that you have a beloved cat, but that your cat is not with you. If you close your eyes and further imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-cat-but-that-your-cat-is-not/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“The journey of a thousands suns begins today. Some may question whether the journey is worth the sacrifice and danger. To them I say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/the-journey-of-a-thousands-suns-begins-today-some-may-question/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [ “What a mistake that had been, to create a construct \[AI\] that could suffer. He knew that now. Life, pain, death, they were no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a-construct-ai-that-could/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Imagine - a thousand Eleanors ruling under a thousand suns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-a-thousand-eleanors-ruling-under-a-thousand-suns/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Evolution is largely a temporal phenomenon, Merrill. The environment changes, and populations in that environment change in turn, or they languish. Individual organisms don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/evolution-is-largely-a-temporal-phenomenon-merrill-the-environment/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Society can serve its citizens only to the extent that it knows them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/society-can-serve-its-citizens-only-to-the-extent-that-it-knows-them/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Capitalism was a marvel, as long as you were a capitalist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/capitalism-was-a-marvel-as-long-as-you-were-a-capitalist/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Why do we need so many people on Earth? I ask you. What are they good for? They live out ludicrous lives of pointless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/why-do-we-need-so-many-people-on-earth-i-ask-you-what-are-they-good/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“And among the sleeping soldiers and colonists in the crypts lay one apart, a woman who had forgotten the meaning of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/and-among-the-sleeping-soldiers-and-colonists-in-the-crypts-lay-one/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“Intelligence is not limited to neural networks, Merrill. Indeed, half of human intelligence resides in our bodies outside our skulls…The genius of the irrational…This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-networks-merrill-indeed-half-of/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“The person who works for recognition devalues the work he does, that awards are first and foremost political instruments, that altruism's true name is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/the-person-who-works-for-recognition-devalues-the-work-he-does-that/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“…I tell you that loneliness itself is the secret. It’s a secret you cannot tell anyone. Why? Because to confess your loneliness is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/i-tell-you-that-loneliness-itself-is-the-secret-it-s-a-secret-you/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“There's not much to say about loneliness, for it's not a broad subject. Any child, alone in her room, can journey across its entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/there-s-not-much-to-say-about-loneliness-for-it-s-not-a-broad-subject/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“In a thousand years, Fred, no one will even know or care we existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/in-a-thousand-years-fred-no-one-will-even-know-or-care-we-existed/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ai/david-marusek/#itemlist", "name": "5 AI Quotes By David Marusek", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Imagine, Bishop, that you have a beloved cat, but that your cat is not with you. If you close your eyes and further imagine you are petting your cat, the same neurons in your brains are activated as if you were petting the actual cat. Our minds may know the difference between its models and reality itself, but it prefers its models. So much so that we apprehend reality through our models, rather than directly via the sense. When I'm speaking to you, I have a little bishop in my head, and though I speak out load, I'm speaking to my little bishop. When you answer, I can only perceive you through my model of you. Mentars also make models, but they don't apprehend reality through them. They end up, not with little people in their minds, but with highly complex rule sets. They relate to their models in the same way we relate to weather models, as things to consult, but not to conflate with external reality.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Marusek" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-cat-but-that-your-cat-is-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/david-marusek-27635_ai_imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-c_38896.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/david-marusek-27635_ai_imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-c_38896.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/david-marusek-27635_ai_imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-c_38896.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagine, Bishop, that you have a beloved cat, but that your cat is not with you. 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Biology was serious business, not for amateurs and foolish gods.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Marusek" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a-construct-ai-that-could/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/david-marusek-27635_ai_what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a_391274.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/david-marusek-27635_ai_what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a_391274.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/david-marusek-27635_ai_what-a-mistake-that-had-been-to-create-a_391274.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a mistake that had been, to create a construct [AI] that could suffer. He knew that now. Life, pain…” — David Marusek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Intelligence is not limited to neural networks, Merrill. Indeed, half of human intelligence resides in our bodies outside our skulls…The genius of the irrational…This is the body’s intelligence, not the mind’s. Every living cell possess it…[the] indomitable will to survive.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Marusek" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-networks-merrill-indeed-half-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-marusek-27635_ai_intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-ne_1172072.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-marusek-27635_ai_intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-ne_1172072.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-marusek-27635_ai_intelligence-is-not-limited-to-neural-ne_1172072.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Intelligence is not limited to neural networks, Merrill. Indeed, half of human intelligence resides in our…” — David Marusek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When General Genius built the first mentar [Artificial Intelligence] mind in the last half of the twenty-first century, it based its design on the only proven conscious material then known, namely, our brains. Specifically, the complex structure of our synaptic network. Scientists substituted an electrochemical substrate for our slower, messier biological one. Our brains are an evolutionary hodgepodge of newer structures built on top of more ancient ones, a jury-rigged system that has gotten us this far, despite its inefficiency, but was crying out for a top-to-bottom overhaul. Or so the General genius engineers presumed. One of their chief goals was to make minds as portable as possible, to be easily transferred, stored, and active in multiple media: electronic, chemical, photonic, you name it. Thus there didn't seem to be a need for a mentar body, only for interchangeable containers. They designed the mentar mind to be as fungible as a bank transfer. And so they eliminated our most ancient brain structures for regulating metabolic functions, and they adapted our sensory/motor networks to the control of peripherals. As it turns out, intelligence is not limited to neural networks, Merrill. Indeed, half of human intelligence resides in our bodies outside our skulls. This was intelligence the mentars never inherited from us. ... The genius of the irrational... ... We gave them only rational functions -- the ability to think and feel, but no irrational functions... Have you ever been in a tight situation where you relied on your 'gut instinct'? This is the body's intelligence, not the mind's. Every living cell possesses it. The mentar substrate has no indomitable will to survive, but ours does. Likewise, mentars have no 'fire in the belly,' but we do. They don't experience pure avarice or greed or pride. They're not very curious, or playful, or proud. They lack a sense of wonder and spirit of adventure. They have little initiative. Granted, their cognition is miraculous, but their personalities are rather pedantic. But probably their chief shortcoming is the lack of intuition. Of all the irrational faculties, intuition in the most powerful. Some say intuition transcends space-time. Have you ever heard of a mentar having a lucky hunch? They can bring incredible amounts of cognitive and computational power to bear on a seemingly intractable problem, only to see a dumb human with a lucky hunch walk away with the prize every time. Then there's luck itself. Some people have it, most don't, and no mentar does. So this makes them want our bodies... Our bodies, ape bodies, dog bodies, jellyfish bodies. They've tried them all. Every cell knows some neat tricks or survival, but the problem with cellular knowledge is that it's not at all fungible; nor are our memories. We're pretty much trapped in our containers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Marusek" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/when-general-genius-built-the-first-mentar-artificial-intelligence/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/david-marusek-27635_ai_when-general-genius-built-the-first-ment_2012723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/david-marusek-27635_ai_when-general-genius-built-the-first-ment_2012723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/david-marusek-27635_ai_when-general-genius-built-the-first-ment_2012723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When General Genius built the first mentar [Artificial Intelligence] mind in the last half of the…” — David Marusek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Consciousness is the chronic pain of life, and all higher organisms suffer it every waking moment.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Marusek" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/consciousness-is-the-chronic-pain-of-life-and-all-higher-organisms/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/david-marusek-27635_ai_consciousness-is-the-chronic-pain-of-lif_2393514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/david-marusek-27635_ai_consciousness-is-the-chronic-pain-of-lif_2393514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/david-marusek-27635_ai_consciousness-is-the-chronic-pain-of-lif_2393514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Consciousness is the chronic pain of life, and all higher organisms suffer it every waking moment.” — David Marusek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ai/david-marusek/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ai/david-marusek/", "name": "AI Quotes by David Marusek", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ai/david-marusek/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/086/david-marusek-27635_ai_imagine-bishop-that-you-have-a-beloved-c_38896.jpg" }, "description": "5 AI quotes by David Marusek. 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