We know this because Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire brainiacs, disagree diametrically. So how can the rest of us find solid ground?
Musk casually asserts, "A.I. is a fundamental threat to the existence of human civilization." Zuckerberg answers with some petulance, "A.I. is going to make our lives better. ... Doomsday scenarios are pretty irresponsible."
People have been lecturing about climate change for many years, claiming this or that will happen in 25 years, 50 years, or 100 years. What is proven? A.I. is going to happen faster, and we will see it happen. Musk urges major countries to restrict research on A.I. before it's too late. Not likely. If you want something to keep you up at night, A.I. may be the thinking person's choice.
All the hardware is moving faster, according to Moore's Law. But that isn't where the action is. Algorithms are the rules or instructions that tell machines what to do. Math geniuses are cleverly devising more ingenious algorithms. They used to give the rules of a game to the machine. No more. Now they tell the computer to study a thousand great games and figure out what it should do to win its next game. Surprising things happen. Moves scorned by experts turn out to be genius!
The Chinese, ever chauvinistic, always assumed that a Chinese man would be the Go champion of the world forever. Well, well, you can imagine the shock to the system when the current star lost to the machine. Condescending toward A.I. the week before, the Chinese military were suddenly big believers. And what is Musk's takeaway from that? "Competition for A.I. supremacy will lead to World War III."
The old doomsday scenarios, nuclear or climate or whatever, were always more circumscribed. Life could be wiped out in one part of the planet, but other parts would not notice. A.I. is already part of everything and proliferating. For example, economists have been fretting for years about what jobs will be left for ordinary humans when robots can do all almost every job better. Massive job disruption seems guaranteed.
People who track public schools often conclude that our classrooms are doing a lousy job. Meanwhile, poorly educated Americans are encouraged to enjoy sports betting, recreational drug use, and a life on welfare. The geniuses at the top of our society seem determined to turn humans into second-class citizens unlikely to deal constructively with so many first-class machines. Bad timing or bad intentions?
Now, for a completely different kind of perplexity, let's hang around the office when the first robot workers have been welcomed into the workforce. Robots should probably be marked with black and white stripes to avoid problems, but research shows, for example, that patients prefer robot nurses that look like real nurses.
There is now a whole separate industry in robotics that we might call hair and make-up. Extreme realism is doable. Robot eyes can dilate, lips can purse, feelings can crawl across a woman's face. We have probably already crossed the threshold where an uninformed person chatted with a robot for half-hour and didn't realize it. Creepy.
The old doomsday scenarios, nuclear or climate or whatever, were always more circumscribed. Life could be wiped out in one part of the planet, but other parts would not notice. A.I. is already part of everything and proliferating. For example, economists have been fretting for years about what jobs will be left for ordinary humans when robots can do all almost every job better. Massive job disruption seems guaranteed.
People who track public schools often conclude that our classrooms are doing a lousy job. Meanwhile, poorly educated Americans are encouraged to enjoy sports betting, recreational drug use, and a life on welfare. The geniuses at the top of our society seem determined to turn humans into second-class citizens unlikely to deal constructively with so many first-class machines. Bad timing or bad intentions?
Now, for a completely different kind of perplexity, let's hang around the office when the first robot workers have been welcomed into the workforce. Robots should probably be marked with black and white stripes to avoid problems, but research shows, for example, that patients prefer robot nurses that look like real nurses.
There is now a whole separate industry in robotics that we might call hair and make-up. Extreme realism is doable. Robot eyes can dilate, lips can purse, feelings can crawl across a woman's face. We have probably already crossed the threshold where an uninformed person chatted with a robot for half-hour and didn't realize it. Creepy.
There is a growing industry devoted to sexy A.I. Will they be second spouses? Or how about a live-in mistress? Will wives accept that? Will there be office romance and jealousy? Some people will probably run screaming in the direction of normalcy, but maybe other people will say, Let robots run free; it's their right. In general, robot shock will be a common experience.
Super-machines and faux humans will likely be welcome additions throughout the society but at the same time a source of unpredictable and perhaps uncontrollable menaces. Imagine people who never have a hair out of place, who never say the wrong thing. You can make them as handsome or pretty as you wish, and as brainy. Can a human love a robot or vice versa? What laws are relevant? Robots can be made to look just like the people you now work beside. How will you feel when you realize...
Read more: HERE
Super-machines and faux humans will likely be welcome additions throughout the society but at the same time a source of unpredictable and perhaps uncontrollable menaces. Imagine people who never have a hair out of place, who never say the wrong thing. You can make them as handsome or pretty as you wish, and as brainy. Can a human love a robot or vice versa? What laws are relevant? Robots can be made to look just like the people you now work beside. How will you feel when you realize...
Read more: HERE
1 comment:
I'm all for them getting rid of Pedro and his leaf blower.
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