Hawking on Artificial Intelligence

[WillBrink]

Stephen Hawking recently weight in on AI, and gives some warnings of AI for humanity. As with all tech that can potentially do great harm or great good for humanity, we'll do what always have, and work hard to achieve it, and deal with the fall out later. Whether that's our demise in the case of AI, I don't know, but we have never stopped to really consider the negatives of a tech before doing it, and we wont do it with AI. Say hello to our new overlords.

Stephen Hawking: 'Transcendence looks at the implications of artificial intelligence - but are we taking AI seriously enough?'

With the Hollywood blockbuster Transcendence playing in cinemas, with Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman showcasing clashing visions for the future of humanity, it's tempting to dismiss the notion of highly intelligent machines as mere science fiction. But this would be a mistake, and potentially our worst mistake in history.

Artificial-intelligence (AI) research is now progressing rapidly. Recent landmarks such as self-driving cars, a computer winning at Jeopardy! and the digital personal assistants Siri, Google Now and Cortana are merely symptoms of an IT arms race fuelled by unprecedented investments and building on an increasingly mature theoretical foundation. Such achievements will probably pale against what the coming decades will bring.

The potential benefits are huge; everything that civilisation has to offer is a product of human intelligence; we cannot predict what we might achieve when this intelligence is magnified by the tools that AI may provide, but the eradication of war, disease, and poverty would be high on anyone's list. Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history.

Cont:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...h-9313474.html

[Outlander Systems]

The standard opinion is that technology is inherently neutral.

I feel this is a logical fallacy, because every technology has a myriad of consequences that come along with it, which, tend not to be foreseen at the time of implementation, and further down the road, the horses are already out of the barn.

Some things are better left alone.

[montanadave]

Saw this also. Despite the predictions of prescient people, mankind has a disturbing pattern of not appreciating the import of historical tipping points until after the fact. Whether AI will be a panacea or a pandora's box remains an open question, but I fear we may well find ourselves with a cyber-tiger by the tail.

[BrigandTwoFour]

This is not a new concern. Humanity's technological capability has always outpaced its moral understanding. These are the same fears expressed in stories throughout history; Prometheus (the original myth, not the recent movie), Frankenstein, Terminator, and many others are all moments where we have feared that we could not control something once we created it.

I have a degree in computer science, and studied under one of the leaders in the field of artificial intelligence. Personally, I don't really see a need to develop the technology. We are more than capable of creating computers that are smart enough to do the things we ask of them without having to battle with the consequences of a self-aware computer. If we did do it, and we probably will, it would be more out of a "to see if we can" attitude. From that point, I can think of a variety of ways we would use it- and many of them are not peaceful.

[Clint]

Sure, what could possibly go wrong...

http://youtu.be/_Wlsd9mljiU

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

A high functioning AI computer would by definition be a psychopath. Something trying to give the appearance of morality with out actually having it.

That said, I don't understand the push towards AI. Like an AI computer would be any better than a human. We take the unerring precision of computers and think this will transfer to AI. Well, the world is not a bunch of binary points. Sure, a computer can win chess games. That doesn't mean that it can handle urban combat. Humans make mistakes not because we are that dumb- we have millions of years of evolutionary 'American Idol' and were crowned champs. We make mistakes because 1. Data is hard to get. 2. Extracting information from that is harder. 3. Throwing away unimportant information is difficult 4. Weighing everything to an optimal solution in a social situation is the key.

Plus, data is expensive. People always want more data, which almost always leads to more questions, which leads to more data...... leadership is making decisions based on not just incomplete, but contradictory information. That leads to bad decisions but that risk is better than waiting for complete data. AI won't fix that.

Just way easier to mate humans with mechanical enhancements than to try to make some battle ninja. Like people are that hard to manipulate and control...

[montanadave]

Password: Joshua

[Abraham]

...and back when airplanes made their first appearance people were known to say: If god wanted man to fly he would've given him wings.

Advanced medicine was considered by many in the clergy to thwart god's intention that suffering was good for the soul.

I read a lot of Luddite-like fear here...

[Voodoo_Man]

Things that make my life easier and/or extend it are welcome.

[Outlander Systems]

...and back when airplanes made their first appearance people were known to say: If god wanted man to fly he would've given him wings.

Advanced medicine was considered by many in the clergy to thwart god's intention that suffering was good for the soul.

I read a lot of Luddite-like fear here...

And nuclear weapons have ended wars.

Riddle me this, Batman: do you see AI benefiting you?

I see AI as something that will further consolidate power, and push us further towards a neo-feudal civilization.

The problem with cornucopians, is the logical fallacy that technology is inherently impartial. It's not. The unintended consequences just usually aren't apparent until ex post facto.

If you look at the home computer, it allows us to conveniently balance a checkbook, post selfies on Facebook, and print our own pictures. The same technology, in other hands, allows someone to mine our personal information, and create a means to have total information awareness.

Lest I be made a hypocrite, considering where I'm posting at, firearms are nothing more than an advanced form of rock throwing.

Mark my words: Artificial Intelligence will greatly open power for large institutions and greatly reduce the power of the individual. Much like the advent of drones signals the end of the era of warfare where the firearm was king, artificial intelligence reduces the value of humanity.

I would not, in the least bit, be surprised if, somewhere in a DARPA or DOE facility, there's a system with a cute nickname like "Generational Organic Data Delivery System", that's already semi-functional.

My degree is in CIS. And I consider the Luddite moniker a term of endearment.

We, as a society, have put technology on a pedestal, and continually worship at its altar. If I could go back on time, and rewrite my future, I'd have been a farmer.