One of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in recent times, the use of AI is rapidly expanding around the globe. The interest of scientists in discovering new applications for this technology is not waning. Are we at the point where we should be worried that AI will eventually surpass human intelligence? Will A.I. lead to the end of humanity?
Back in the 1880s, when the necessity for fast and easy transportation was first recognized, the first automobiles with gasoline or petrol-powered internal combustion engines were developed. Now, however, they are a major contributor to air pollution and environmental damage.
The first computers were built in the early 19th century as machines to do routine but essential tasks. Today, we talk about how our reliance on computers has hurt our ability to multitask and even our physical well-being.
To facilitate long-distance communication among researchers, the Internet was developed in the 1980s, at the outset of the computer networking revolution. Despite being a groundbreaking innovation, the internet is now driving the growing sophistication of cyber threats and attacks.
Although artificial intelligence (AI) was first conceptualized in the 1950s, its development has accelerated in the 21st century. John McCarthy, considered by many to be the “father of AI,” defines AI as the science of developing a super-intelligent system or device capable of performing all the jobs that until now have required human intelligence.
Most scientific breakthroughs over time have mirrored the development of more sophisticated technologies. Today, not only has the industrial sector begun rapidly adopting AI technology thanks to the rise of the Industry 4.0 trend, but consumers are also beginning to see it in their everyday lives as it becomes integrated into widely used consumer electronics.
Has it come to the point where we need to imagine the terrible, super-intelligent repercussions of this technology, given that we have reached the century of smart appliances and AI-driven robotic devices that are smarter than ever before? Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has called AI the “biggest existential threat” to humanity, claiming that it is even more dangerous than nuclear bombs.
What exactly is AI?
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is the study of making robots and appliances intelligent enough to perform all the jobs that humans do. Narrow AI, General AI, and Super AI are the three common tiers of AI intelligence.
Typically, the work of a narrow AI is focused on the creation and programming of machines for a single, narrow purpose. Self-driving cars are the most well-known example of narrow AI, despite the fact that they use a number of different narrow AI systems in the background.
In contrast to narrow AI, general AI aims to create machines that can carry out specific tasks, such as problem solving, at least as well as humans can.
What we should be most concerned about when it comes to artificial intelligence is super AI, often known as superintelligence. It has the potential to endow computers with human-like faculties, including as decision-making, cognition, creativity, and even social skills, giving them the means to one day overthrow humanity.
Are we headed toward a future of problem-solving humanoids or problem-creating humanoids, given that the human brain is too complex to reproduce at the present time?
How Artificial Intelligence can be menacing if not Realised its Severity Soon
Many researchers believe that a superintelligence wouldn’t be able to teach machines to feel things like love, hate, revenge, or empathy. The era in which AI would knowingly become malicious or vindictive has long since passed. But what if scientists and engineers eventually succeed in building superintelligent machines?
The proliferation of AI has the potential to displace humans from a wide range of occupations in the near future. Arguments concerning the new jobs that AI-driven automation would produce are frequently used to refute these suppositions. Nonetheless, it will only create jobs for humans with a specific skill set, and in the long run, it will cause the loss of many jobs.
Second, it would be irresponsible to ignore the dystopian possibility that AI may help develop autonomous weapons that would be used in conflicts. Artificial intelligence enables the development of weapons and missiles that are difficult to deactivate in emergencies. In the worst-case scenario, mankind would have no way of regaining control of these ‘intelligent’ weapons, leading to a future of horrific mass fatalities.
The Verdict: Is it Time to be frightened of the Rise of AI?
Researchers and developers of AI are more concerned with figuring out whether or if there are specific types of behavior or other problems that need to be addressed by the technology. It’s challenging to put into practice all the ideas that come to mind while thinking about how technology can be advanced. Scientists are divided on whether or not we are overestimating the capabilities of AI if we worry about it causing harm to humans.
Although some researchers believe that concerns about AI are overstated at the moment, it would be foolish to discount the potential risks associated with the technology when they have the backing of prominent figures in the tech industry.Not only does Elon Musk worry about artificial intelligence, but other brilliant minds like Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have also warned us to be wary of the direction AI is heading in. Expert in information technology Erik Brnyojolfsson cited Vladimir Putin’s statement that “the one who becomes a leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world.”
Though it may sound like a distant alarm right now, our efforts to determine whether or not it is possible to create a machine with its decision-making capabilities and human emotions may be leading us directly to our own destruction.