The Danger From Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence also referred to as A.I, is a term that is tossed around in pop culture, the media and science on a regular basis today. Someone who has skillfully crafted a way to miniplate the media using pop culture and science is undoubtedly Elon Musk the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and founder of PayPal. Whether you agree with or dislike his sensationalist antics, the things he says, or tweets influences people. He can keep people engaged in scientific advancements in an age where holding the public’s attention is increasingly difficult. So, when Musk tweets “If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be.
Vastly more risk than North Korea” that can alarm people. His thoughts on A.I are well known, saying things such as A.I is akin to “summoning the devil”. So, when he says we need to be proactive about A.I regulation, is that a fair assessment? Well it is true artificial intelligence is full of possibilities, a signal for a whole new world, but possibilities also come with problems. The advancements range diely from helping discover more effective treatments for diseases such as cancer, to its use as a lethal weapon than can harm all of humanity.
Even though we are decades away from the “robots turning on us”, we have already experienced the misuse of A.I. It has aided in polarizing nations throughout Europe and in the United States by spreading disinformation and “fake news”, its results being evident in todays world order and political climate. It can do this because artificial intelligence makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust and in the end perform tasks that used to require humans. For example, creating content online that would appeal to a certain target population and there by influencing their decisions. This becomes dangerous because of the scale that a machine can do this at, as compared to one human. However, it is not only news and politics that are at risk to these advancements.
Retailers collect data on all our online purchases; which gives insight into future interests based on past behavior, then suggesting products to us. However, “optimal pricing” which discriminates prices for the same product based on what customer would be willing to pay comes into play. This same issue of discrimination can be applied to loans from banks and health insurance coverage that deny people who live in certain areas or are a certain age. Also, since these algorithms are designed by data scientists (humans!) their inherent biases would be reflected in how the machines develop.
Overall, since artificial intelligence can be used to control who receives services, how people vote and how a vehicle deals with collisions. We need regulation to provide equitable treatment for everybody as well as protecting our safety and civil rights. However, referring to it as “summoning the devil” and calling for complete regulation can suppress innovation and the benefits of A.I development provides.
