Science fiction has shown us countless scenarios where technology surpasses our human intelligence and rebels against us. Every day, with the advancement of these technologies, we’ve also been witnesses of how some of the inventions we thought we could only see in these stories have become a reality. So it’s natural to question the future of humanity with the increasing development of technology. It’s no secret that humanity has always feared the unknown, and in that way, each civilization has been reluctant to accept new advancements in their everyday life.
However, it would seem that, nowadays, these developments evolve so quickly that the fear has increased notably. A couple of weeks ago we witnessed a small feud between two of the most powerful beings in the world, at least as far as technology is concerned. This friction involved Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Mark Zuckerberg, none other than the founder and owner of Facebook. But what was the issue about?
For the last couple of years, Musk has been urging the most important political characters to develop regulation concerning Artificial Intelligence (AI) since, as he believes, the subject has been neglected when it really represents a greater risk, even more destructive than the worst nuclear war imaginable. Musk strongly believes in a future scenario where human beings become completely subdued by robots and other AI creatures. As he has stated, there won’t be a real concern “until people see robots go down the street killing people,” and it will be too late.
In a live interview Facebook’s CEO was asked about his opinion on AI warnings (obviously referring to what Musk had recently stated), and his answer was that it is an issue that he takes very seriously, but unlike some who believe in apocalyptic scenarios, he’s optimistic about the role AI will have in the improvement of human life. But he did a subtle attack by arguing that these types of remarks were completely irresponsible. Now, who’s right?
Both men have reasons to believe what they do, and I don’t think this is a matter of who’s right and who’s wrong. In an article for The Conversation, Arend Hintze (an AI researcher) poses his real concerns and fears about artificial intelligence. He states that, while it’s true that science and technology are the ones in charge of these developments, the main fears should be in regards to moral, ethical, and sociological issues. In that way, he agrees with Musk on the need for regulations. However, this isn’t in the same way as to what the magnate suggests.
Hintze believes that the main problem with AI is that, as society or species, we’re not really sure why we want these technologies, and that’s mainly because we don’t know their full potential. In other words, we don’t know what they’re really capable of doing. So, yes, there’s a fear of the unknown, but more important, of the use we can give to AI. He strongly believes that, as they develop and improve these technologies, researchers and scientists are constantly foreseeing probable unintended consequences. But this prevention can’t contemplate the possible misuse given to them.
And this is exactly what we should be worrying about, rather than whether the machines will rebel against humanity. We’ve seen this before, the use of science and technology for the service of power and greed. Call it the atomic bomb or the many weapons and warfare objects, because for that purpose AI is already being used as we speak. The question here is, who has access to these advanced technologies?
We tend to believe that the Internet has dominated the world, for instance. But in reality, according to the United Nations Broadband Commission, only 43% of the world’s population has access to it. If you want more shocking data, of the 7,100 languages spoken in the world, only 5% are represented on the Internet. That’s 355 languages. The lack of infrastructure in rural areas in most developing countries makes it very difficult for people to have access to this resource that many of us take for granted as something basic in our daily life.
What this shows us is the tremendous disparity in the world, and in that way, it also shows who’s really capable of reaching the latest technological advancements. So, if you ask me, no, I’m not really worried about killer robots controlling the human race (even if this was a possible scenario). I’m more concerned about how technology is being used nowadays, how war will become even more vicious and ruthless, how even as AI is being designed to improve quality of life, only a few will have access to those benefits. These disparities will end up creating a huge evolutionary gap. And that’s what’s really worrisome, Elon Musk.
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Further reading:
Project TALOS: The Plan Inspired By Iron Man To Create An Indestructible Army
Why Sex Will Be All About Pleasure Rather Than Procreation
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