When it comes to artificial intelligent, there are two major trains of thought: this technology will be the birth of a new race or this technology will be the death of us. The train of thought you follow comes from where you learnt about AI. You likely picked up the former train of thought from lectures, individual research or a conversation with a human cyborg. You likely picked up the latter train of though from mass media – notably most sci fi movies.
While AI certainly has same major risks, it’s a shame that so many people shudder at the thought of it. Renowned theoretical physicis Steph Hawking wrote an open letter about the perils of AI. He said,
“The potential benefits are huge, since everything that civilization has to offer is a product of human intelligence; we cannot predict what we might achieve when this intelligence is magnified by the tools AI may provide, but the eradication of disease and poverty are not unfathomable. The point of the research priorities they lay out is to ensure AI systems head in this positive direction… our AI systems must do what we want them to do.”
However the paper doesn’t just exist to slam AI. Notably it lists questions to be considered during the design phase of intelligent systems to keep people and their society safe. The general message was that while there are concerns, if we start looking at how to address these concerns early on we should be okay. Motherboard even believes if we can harness AI to tackle issues like poverty and disease, maybe we’ll even be better than OK.
