Leslie Krech
8 November 2017
Is Artificial Intelligence Really a Threat?
Divergent opinions exist on the topic of Artificial Intelligence. The notion of “the created,” that is, highly sophisticated robots programmed by humans, surpassing man, or “the creator,” in intellect and ultimate usefulness, is not new and is instead a recurring theme in much of our pop-culture. Humans seem to highly enjoy the thought of man’s destruction of itself by its own creation; from Frankenstein to The Matrix and very recently the (remade) program, Westworld on HBO. We want humankind to get dangerously close to the edge of extinction, but we also want it to ultimately defeat the “evil” androids who no longer wish to be subservient to their maker. In light of
The idea that AI machines have the potential to be dangerous and/or become autonomous, is supported by well-respected experts warning about future harm, as well as rapid developments using AI technology that have
It brings dangers like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many” ( cnbc) Other renowned technology leaders, including Elon Musk, penned a letter to the UN, in which they called for a ban on development and use of artificially intelligent weaponry. (cnbc). “Musk has tweeted that he fears a global arms race for artificial intelligence will cause the third World War” (cnbc). AI technology as applied to weaponry is terrifying. But there are other immediate fears about AI. Another threat, more relevant to us right now, stems from a long-held fear that machines will gradually take most of the world’s jobs. Elon Musk, has warned that AI is our biggest existential threat (BBC, 2014.) Even today, flavors of AI are rapidly seeping into our everyday lives via self-driving cars, GPS systems and virtual assistants such as Siri and Alexa. Won’t more jobs be given to the highly efficient and logical decision-making capabilities of computers and robots? What jobs will be left for the inferior, fallible
AI will begin to replace human jobs. They are beginning created to be more like humans and learn the human ways. According to “With the introduction of machines that can complete human’s jobs quicker, more accurate, and cheaper, the rate of jobs lost is climbing. Ever since the introduction of factory machines people have been losing jobs to technologies.”(Health Research Funding, 2014). This shows how AI will begin taking humans jobs because if they do the work faster, better, and
From self-driving cars to increasingly “smart” gadgets and virtual reality, technology has now become an integral part of humans’ lives. As individuals become more dependent on it, the rate of innovation has a further “legitimate” reason to rise. Currently, the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been on an increasing trend. Simply put, Artificial Intelligence serves to mimic and to even surpass the capabilities of a human brain. Just recently, an AI developed by Google DeepMind has managed to defeat Lee Sedol, a world champion of the Go game. Due to the countless number of possibilities of the game, this was once a task that was previously deemed impossible to solve by brute force alone (Burgess). This may not seem important to the public; however, it is crucial to note that Artificial Intelligence has now shown explicit signs of surpassing humans. If this trend of technology continues unguided, how can someone ensure that there will not be an AI that will transform into a destructive being like Victor’s
The short stories, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”, I, Robot, and “Harrison Bergeron” show how the machines begin to control the lives of the humans and gradually become predominant figures in the society. Our over-usage of technology limits our ability to think critically for ourselves. Robert Reilly argues, “… you cannot construct thinking machines on the one side and laws which forbid certain fields of thinking on the other …” (18). I agree with this argument as it applies to most technological inventions which include setting certain limits to programs. These limits of certain fields of thinking include the ability to partake in activities without the instructions of a human, or being capable of disobeying certain commands, or having the ability to criticize other machines or humans without a set of instructions entered. Consequently, these programs or machines tend to always surpass these limits by either hacking or having bugs in their systems. These short stories demonstrate how the modern society considers technology to hold greater value than human life and lets technology rule its life. By letting machines do most of our working and thinking, we limit our minds from being creative and having proficiency in presenting new
Human beings have always been interested with the concept of artificial life and the construction of machines that look and behave like people. But nowhere is the concept of making a living thing out of spare parts more dramatic and exciting than in Mary Shelley’s famous story Dr.Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (1818). This story has been told and retold in various motion pictures and television shows throughout the twentieth century. Today, whenever people take the time to discuss and deduce the evolution of smart machines, their conversations usually include the possible rise of self-aware, intelligent robots that threaten to destroy their human masters.
Nick Bilton starts “Artificial Intelligence as a Threat” with a comparison of Ebola, Bird flu, SARS, and artificial intelligence. Noted by Bilton, humans can stop Ebola, bird flu, and SARS. However, artificial intelligence, if it ever exceeds human intelligence, would not be stoppable by humans. Bilton, in his article, argues that AI is the biggest threat to humans at our current time, more serious than Ebola and other diseases. Bilton references many books and articles which provide examples of threats of AI.
When most people think of artificial intelligence they might think of a scene from I, Robot or from 2001: A Space Odyssey. They might think of robots that highly resemble humans start a revolution against humanity and suddenly, because of man’s creation, man is no longer the pinnacle of earth’s hierarchy of creatures. For this reason, it might scare people when I say that we already utilize artificial intelligence in every day society. While it might not be robots fighting to win their freedom to live, or a defense system that decides humanity is the greatest threat to the world, artificial intelligence already plays a big role in how business is conducted today.
To begin, the main issue of development of Artificial Intelligence is the economic factors. Firstly, one of the main negative effects of AI on economy is unemployment. According to the suggesting of Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne of Oxford University during next 20 years 47 per cent of all USA jobs under the threat and will be replaced with intelligence machines (Vincent). If jobs will be automated, people will lose their workplaces and it is becomes one of the harmful problems not only for economy, but also for society. Because, if people will not have a workplace, they will not be able to provide their needs. Furthermore, development of AI can be a reason of increasing inequality of wages. For instance, the salaries of computer workers approximately earn 10 to 15 percent more than others. (Frey and Osborne). It is also one of the economic problems because it can lead to discontent of workers who hav...
Bar-Cohen, Y. (2009). The coming robot revolution expectations and fears about emerging intelligent, humanlike machines. Springer.
Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, allows a machine to function as if the machine has the capability to think like a human. While we are not expecting any hovering cars anytime soon, artificial intelligence is projected to have a major impact on the labor force and will likely replace about half the workforce in the United States in the decades to come. The research in artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly at an unstoppable rate. So while many people feel threatened by the possibility of a robot taking over their job, computer scientists actually propose that robots would benefit a country’s efficiency of production, allowing individuals to reap the benefits of the robots. For the advantage of all, researchers and analysts have begun to mend the past ideas of human-robot interaction. They have pulled inspiration from literary works of Isaac Asimov whom many saw as the first roboticist ahead of his time, and have also gotten ideas of scholarly research done by expert analysts. These efforts have began to create an idea of a work force where humans and robots work together in harmony, on a daily basis.
The approach to artificial intelligence should be proceeded with caution. Throughout recent years and even decades before, it has been a technological dream to produce artificial intelligence. From movies, pop culture, and recent technological advancements, there is an obsession with robotics and their ability to perform actions that require human intelligence. Artificial intelligence has become a real and approachable realization today, but should be approached with care and diligence. Humans can create advanced artificial intelligence but should not because of the harm they may cause, the monumental advancement needed in the technology, and that its harm outweighs its benefits.
Bar-Cohen, Yoseph, and David Hanson. The Coming Robot Revolution: Expectations and Fears about Emerging Intelligent, Humanlike Machines. New York: Springer, 2009. Print.
Artificial intelligence is the development of a computer system that is able to perform tasks of human intelligence like visual perception, speech recognition, and decision-making. Computer scientists have made a substantial advancement in the development of computers within the last fifty or so years. These robots and other kinds of machines are progressively more and more able to understand, speak and “think” the way human beings do. Scientists are even now saying that these robots are going to be able to develop counterparts and new artificial intelligence to a greater degree than any human being could ever do ("Artificial”). My concern is though, are we going to be able to trust these robots to “takeover” our communities safely? I personally think that the robots will cause nothing less than danger to our community.
Recently, the media has spent an increasing amount of broadcast time on new technology. The focus of high-tech media has been aimed at the flurry of advances concerning artificial intelligence (AI). What is artificial intelligence and what is the media talking about? Are these technologies beneficial to our society or potential threats? Medical facilities, police departments, and manufacturing plants have all been changed by AI. Will machine language and artificial neural network replace humans in the future?
Shyam Sankar, named by CNN as one of the world’s top ten leading speakers, says the key to AI evolvement is the improvement of human-computer symbiosis. Sankar believes humans should be more heavily relied upon in AI and technological evolvement. Sankar’s theory is just one of the many that will encompass the future innovations of AI. The next phase and future of AI is that scientists now want to utilize both human and machine strengths to create a super intelligent thing. From what history has taught us, the unimaginable is possible with determination. Just over fifty years ago, AI was implemented through robots completing a series of demands. Then it progressed to the point that AI can be integrated into society, seen through interactive interfaces like Google Maps or the Siri App. Today, humans have taught machines to effectively take on human jobs, and tasks that have created a more efficient world. The future of AI is up to the creativity and innovation of current society’s scientists, leaders, thinkers, professors, students and
In conclusion, artificial intelligence could take over the jobs of humans; it could result in the enslavation or extinction of the human race, or the corruption of the next generations and onwards.