As the technology we use continues to grow and expand in our everyday life, so does our curiosity and innovation. This mindset has lead to many discoveries that range from computers that can store an infinite supply of memory and machines that can do human-made work twice as fast.
Every step so far has come down to an aspect of technology that has often been explored and tested, but still so fascinating, Artifical Intelligence.
This is, of course, the intelligence that a nonhuman obtains to be able to do the tasks in which a human would be capable of doing, but much faster and more efficient if possible.
How Has it Led Up?
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From every milestone in which we have come to create a new computer or another factory machine. We have often created higher standards for what we expect technology to accomplish. A factory arm that lifts a million tons of weight would likely be planed to make even if that same person has just finished making a factory arm that can raise thousands of weight. The point is that we are never satisfied. Nowhere is this mentality spotlighted more than in the world of computer technology.
Computer technicians and innovators alike are often looking to find the next advancement in their products. Whether to make the grand game change or to one-up their competition. An aspect these people commonly encounter when working on this technology is that the more human qualities that can be added such as person to person communication and interaction, the more advanced and ahead of the time they will be. So, what would seem more advanced than being able to create a source of human-like intelligence to a machine? This where Artifical Intelligence comes in.
This is a breakthrough that one has often seen portrayed in Tv, Movies, Video Games, etc. But the very idea that AI can be a thing of reality is a feat that no one could have thought of seeing. Every day we were creating new AI systems in our phones, in our cars, and so much more. But now that we have this technology, what can we hope for and what should we be cautious about?
The Grand Possibilities
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With the aid of AI, we will be able to increase the amount of production we can do. We may see ourselves surrounded by devices that have this intelligence and can perform many tasks.
With robots that can do what humans can, they might be able to do the types of jobs that would seem too dangerous for humans to do, such as skyscraper construction and research in archaic bacteria.
AI also can form the ability to store more information than an average computer, which can make data collecting much more reliable.
AI also has much less of a chance in the same kind of error that could be applied to humans — thus making work and research much for accurate and efficient.
Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google) has stated that “AI is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on.”
The Risks Along the Way
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Although AI may seem like the solution to more efficient work, it might also be its problem.
If AI were to advance much more in the workforce, it would likely put many people out of jobs. Even if humans can’t perform to the same standard, they would still need a way to support themselves.
We also have to look into the risk of when AI doesn’t work. If it were to function differently or incorrect, the possibilities of what damage it could bring could range from significant to catastrophic — resulting in people in danger from self-driving cars, or the possibility of being hacked, speaking off.
Unlike humans, AI’s can be more easily controlled and manipulated with the right amount of programming, although it can lead to good use, in the wrong hands it can be made for other more harmful purposes.
Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla) had famously said that “The Pase of progress in artificial intelligence is incredibly fast…The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five-year time frame”.
Conclusion
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In the end, technology is still a long way to go before we see it’s full capability. I would like to end with a quote that sums up the whole idea from the late Stephen Hawking.
“The real risk with AI isn’t malice but competence.”