If you are a regular reader of these blogs (and I KNOW you ARE), then you realize I’ve been a little queasy about the continuing advances in artificial intelligence (A.I.)
I mean, it seems like it’s all happening so fast. Even the youngest among us knows how to order Siri and Alexa around. And not just to answer their parent-stumping homework questions.
No, now it’s “Siri, who would win in a fight between a crocodile and a rhinoceros?” And “Alexa, how much do you really LOVE me?”
As if a disconnected computer voice could seriously love ANYONE.
But A.I. has progressed so much in the last few years. Now, with A.I. programming, we can make famous people look like they’ve done something wrong — or be really weird.
Or say something they would never actually say. We can now manipulate images with A.I. — so real that their own mothers might not be able to detect the difference.
Even now, A.I. can take tests for us, paint pictures and even write poetry.
And as advancements in A.I. continue at a rapid pace, the development of robots is also moving ahead quickly.
The obvious result: In the not-too-distant future, a super-smart robot that can do virtually everything a human can do — only faster, cheaper and much better.
Recently, hundreds of scientists and other concerned parties signed a petition to put new research in A.I. on a six-month pause.
You know, so we all can take a deep breath and see where things are headed — and maybe try to rein in some of the more dangerous trends.
But here’s the problem: Not everyone involved in A.I. research is going to honor that pause. After all, the race to “perfect” A.I. and robots is all about competition — and that means money.
With so much invested in discovering A.I.’s capabilities, many companies won’t want to sit idly by and see those investments wasted. And besides, how will the pause be policed? Who’s cheating? And if some do cheat — who dishes out the penalty?
There really is no one. It’s basically the honor system — and we all know how that usually works out.
We also know that A.I. research is going on in virtually every scientifically advanced nation on Earth — many of which do NOT share our values or concerns about where it all might lead.
Do we really want Russia and China to go forward with their A.I. research while our idealistic American companies surrender any lead they may have over the commies — to the commies?
When I first heard about this proposed moratorium on A.I. research, I thought it sounded kind of grown-up and wise. But — unfortunately — The World doesn’t honor wisdom, just WHO WINS IN THE END.
So what’s the answer?
For me, it has to boil down to A.I. research companies in America and in other enlightened nations -- that DO see the wisdom in this -- to make it a goal to work together to make sure A.I. is developed in a “helpful” way.
And NOT in a way that makes it harder to sleep at night.
I find this piece quite interesting. It's an example of why we need writers: to think and write about ways technology might change our lives, for good or ill or, sometimes, a combination of both. Fiction writers are also important resources of the possible changes technology such as AI may bring to our quality of life. The novel Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson bears this out. Published in 2011, it's a story of what could happen if AI turned against humanity. The human race is nearly wiped out, but scattered remnants regroup and fight back. The novel is an oral history of this battle. After reading it, I am very wary of the indiscriminate proliferation of AI. Of cour…