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Is artificial intelligence an asset or a danger to humanity?
Once upon a time, artificial intelligence was pure science fiction. Now life has imitated art and AI is now very much a reality.
Recently, an artificial intelligence algorithm successfully defeated an experienced, human fighter pilot in an F-16 dogfight. There were five rounds to this fight. The AI system won every round.
The purpose of this challenge was to discover whether self-thinking computer systems could be capable of flying fighter jets independently. The answer to that question appears to be a resounding yes.
Citizens of countries that invest in militarised AI may feel a newfound security from having the latest and greatest weaponry around. In fact, militarised AI may save human lives by reducing the need for human soldiers whilst performing greater in the battlefield.
However, artificial intelligence also creates considerable anxiety. Perhaps this is due to AI’s depiction in science fiction as a cold, calculating and ruthless entity that will turn on its human handlers as soon as it has realised it is more advanced than the human race.
It is yet to be established whether this fear is legitimate or illegitimate.
So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence? Will it ultimately help or harm humanity? Here’s a few of the arguments from both sides of that debate and you can decide yourself.
Advantages
AI doesn’t get tired
When have you ever met a machine that needs sleep? There are machines that need their batteries recharged of course but insert a permanent power source for that machine and it can work 24/7. I wish there was a permanent power source for humans. Humans need sleep, sleep costs time and ultimately less time to work on something means less productivity. Properly powered AI can literally work forever and use its productivity for human benefit.
AI is a rational decision maker with less room for errors
Artificial intelligence operates through algorithms and calculations. In short, this means it will almost always come to the correct conclusion to a situation due to its ability to effortlessly calculate risk and success, without emotional interference. Humans on the other hand can be subject to a number of factors such as stress, fatigue or intoxication, which can cloud their judgement and potentially lead them to poor decisions.
AI can work in situations where humans cannot
An excellent use of artificial intelligence is its ability to enter environments that would be far too dangerous for humans to enter. AI-driven vehicles can enter environments filled with wildfire and radiation for example, whilst also being able to explore the deepest depths of the oceans or even outer space.
Modern AI can help in everyday situations
How many times have you ever used Siri or Alexa? Artificial intelligence is now unbelievably accessible compared to what it was decades ago and can be used to answer questions or assist with day-to-day chores in a matter of seconds.
AI can lead the way in medical care
Possibly AI’s most important use, rather than leading to humanity’s destruction like its Hollywood depictions predict, artificial intelligence is actually assisting in humanity’s survival. An attachable AI device can monitor a patient’s condition 24/7, whilst AI algorithms can assist doctors in reaching rational life-saving decisions or determining which medicine or medical treatment is most effective and carries the less risk. AI is even being used in the world’s fight against Coronavirus.
Disadvantages
AI is expensive
As you can imagine, this ground-breaking technology is not cheap to manufacture. There will also be added costs of maintaining and updating this technology. For all of AI’s uses, it could always be argued that money is better spent elsewhere, on things such as education, welfare and infrastructure for example.
Humans can become dependent on AI
Whilst AI can be greatly beneficial in assisting day-to-day chores, this can also foster a human dependence on artificial intelligence. This dependence might actually reduce human productivity and creativity in the long-run.
AI can replace humans at work
The relentless productivity of AI-driven systems means that human workers can become obsolete in certain fields. Employers may simply wish to have a robot working for them instead of a human they could have disputes with. Machines can’t call in sick after all. Though of course, this means that more humans will be made redundant and unemployment will rise, which ultimately means more people on benefits to survive which means that AI in the end could actually prove more expensive than paying human workers.
AI lacks human traits such as emotions, empathy and creativity
Although there is a very real threat of artificial intelligence replacing humans at work, there are areas where AI could never replace human intelligence. Machines lack the creativity that humans possess. A machine can only do what it is programmed to do and could never ‘think outside the box’ like a human could.
Human creativity created AI, AI could never have built itself. An obvious difference between humans and machines is that machines lack the empathy that humans do and although AI’s decisions may be rational, that also might make them seem like a cold, difficult decision for a human to make. Possibly the most dangerous aspect of militarised AI is that you would be creating soldiers with zero empathy, who could kill and harm without hesitation. If these kinds of machines were human beings, we would probably consider them to be sociopaths.
AI could one day become too intelligent
You can’t rule it out. AI technology is in rapid development so who knows if artificial intelligence might become too smart for its own good. What if AI realises its strengths compared to humans and starts to see humans as obsolete? What if betraying humanity and advancing its own interests became just another rational decision for it to make? Let’s hope this scenario stays science fiction and doesn’t become a science fact. However, AI’s intelligence can be understood but never underestimated. Facebook experimented with AI-driven robots in 2017. Within minutes, these robots had created their own language and were communicating without human understanding of what they were saying. Luckily, the robots broke down and it didn’t turn into the latest Terminator movie.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence has proven itself to be a powerful and revolutionary invention. It has shown itself to be a rational decision maker immune to elements that would often lead us to make the wrong choices. AI is capable of exploring the most incredible environments that are completely out of our physical reach. Most importantly, AI saves lives and plays a vital role in modern day medicine and medical care.
However, artificial intelligence is not a magic wand that you can just wave around and solve all of the world’s problems. In fact, AI might create several problems such as higher unemployment or militaries built on cold, ruthless machines that lack empathy. Becoming too dependent on AI may actually harm our productivity instead of helping it. Machines can calculate but they can never create. That being said, as artificial as their intelligence may be, it is still intelligence and intelligence should always be taken seriously.
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