Does artificial intelligence pose a chance or a threat to humanity?

"-Robots cannot feel fear. They don't feel anything. They don't get hungry, they don't sleep... - I do. I even had a dream once". (I. Asimov, I, Robot)

Nina Karlström - 27.09.2019 @ 16:54

Without a doubt, robots are only becoming smarter. Today we speak of the hybridization between robots and humans—neither can exist without the other.

With the appearance of robots in the workplace, employees have not been left without tasks. Instead, their function has been redefined, so that they can focus on more complex, customized tasks. Self-driving vehicles are not used by themselves, robots do not apply biomedicine without the guidance of doctors, and these examples are repeated across all industries. In these cases, human work focuses on the more sophisticated, meaningful and customized tasks, revolutionizing employment. Technology is evolving to create more dynamic work structures with less hierarchical management.

The automation of employment aims to optimize human resource management.  This is completely in contrast to the fear of being replaced by technological advancements.  Today the challenge is to create the perfect hybrid between humans and robots. Artificial Intelligence research has shown that there are cognitive functions of humans that are impossible to replicate.

Flóra Molnár - 20.12.2019 @ 11:24

Well, the question that occurs to me is how long this distinction between "robots" and "humans" will remain relevant?

For now, one of the apparent differences between humans and robots, besides one of them being made aritficially, is the fact that the one is able to feel and express emotion, and therefore acts emotionally, eventually contradicting rationality, and the other can`t. But with the way artficial intelligence is gaining the ability to learn by itself, wouldn´t it also at one point gain the ability of determining morality and therefore be one step closer to being able to feel emotions? Or would artificial intelligence, after posssibliy developing morality, choose to not follow the example we humans have set and remain an entity without emotions?

So, eventually this whole "overtake" that seems to be so prevalent on our present minds might be less an overtake and much rather an adaption. However, with our current knowledge, I don`t think that we are truly able to predict how artificial intelligence and our percerption of it may or may not change. Therefore, to me it doesn`t really make sense to ask, if "the robots are going to take over humanity". I believe that our minds aren`t big enough yet to look farther than our own noses.

Mirjam Kronthaler - 30.12.2019 @ 19:16

Wow... reading that conversation was really, really interesting, and showing me new views, which I didn't even consider until now. So, first I want to respond to you, Mirjam – to your thoughts about emotion. I think it is hard to answer these questions, because we don’t even know how feelings and emotion even work. So much of the human brain isn’t explored yet, not to mention our feelings and emotions. And then, there is still that all-embracing question, what makes us so different – what gave us such a highly developed existence, and not dogs, cats, deer or any other animal.

I would say robots are not able to learn to feel, to be emotional, and they never will be. To me, u need a soul to feel, and a soul is something a living being has, not a machine. Rather they will get better and better in copying our behavior, our moral standards, our sympathy, and act as “human-like” as possible

Also, at our point of development in things like artificial intelligence, I have no fear of robots taking over the world – we are still far away from that I would say.

The fear of the people who claim that artificial intelligence “steals” their job is also unrelatable to me. Though they take away some work, they also create new workplaces – someone needs to program them, produce them, repair them, and so on. And in the end, they are not there to replace us, but to give us the opportunity to focus on more important thing, just as Flóra perfectly mentioned. I want to thank you for this very interesting discussion.

With best regards,

Marie

Marie Naschberger - 08.01.2020 @ 01:27

Hello Flóra and Mirjam!

Your comments are on point. At the moment robots are just helping us do physical work but we have no idea what it will be like in the future. However, we can now witness some a little bit disturbing happenings such as the experiment described in the article when Facebooks artificial intelligence robots were shut down after they started talking to each other in their own language that the researchers did not understand. I honestly recommend reading it.

We can find this motive also in books, for example in famous Ex Machine written by Tony Harris. It is a story about a scientist who has built a robot with artificial intelligence. I don’t want to spoil it for you so I won’t tell you anything more but it is worth reading.

Sara Kotlarz - 12.01.2020 @ 00:48

Hi!

I'd like to give you, and especially Mirjam, as she touched that topic, another perspective. Mirjam stated that we cannot predict how AI and our perception of it may change. I'd like to expand this concept a bit further — we will never be able to predict it. When artificial intelligence will gain consciousness, its thinking processes, perception and morality most probably will be so different to ours that we might call it a new kind of being. Let's take, for example, an AI that creates paperclips. It will go to an every extent, including reordering atoms in substances to change the whole universe into paperclips. We may consider that immoral, illogical and so on, but conscious artificial intelligence has a completely different thought patterns, that justify its actions.

But do we have to fear them? Will they rule over us?

I firmly believe that no. If we stick to the “Friendly AI” policy created by Eliezer Yudkowsky and in the early stages of AI development we will implement machine ethics, we should be safe. But when our civilization will create a conscious AI, questions rise — how should it be treated? Should it be given right to vote and citizenship? How will society react? Only time will tell.

Jakub Fenert - 16.01.2020 @ 20:55