Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving quicker than any of us could have predicted. Experts in the field of technology have repeatedly stated that advancements in AI are occurring at a rapid rate and that things expected to happen years later are already occurring. Some experts believe that the rapid development of AI is beneficial and will facilitate our learning and adaptation. However, others warn about the dangers of AI and assert that the world may not be ready for it yet.
Ray Kurzweil had said, "Artificial Intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, and we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilisation a billion-fold."
Recently, former Google executive and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton said he felt compelled to "blow the whistle" on the dangers of AI since the technology he helped create is developing intelligence beyond his wildest dreams.
Similarly, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has long been an outspoken critic of AI. He reiterated his concern that even "benign dependency" on these powerful machines poses a threat to human civilisation. Musk believed that overreliance on AI for even ordinary tasks could force people to recall how to operate the equipment that made AI possible. Likewise, the CEO of Google said that the risks associated with the development of AI "keep me up at night." In response to concerns about the technology's effects on jobs, privacy, and how information is shared online, Sundar Pichai stated that it "can be very harmful if deployed wrong" and supported mounting calls for regulation.
To understand the risks and dangers of AI, let's look at some of the main hazards associated with it:
Autonomous weapons
One way AI can be dangerous is if it is trained to do something risky, such as with autonomous weapons designed to kill. Even the possibility of a worldwide autonomous weapons race replacing the nuclear arms race seems conceivable.
Job losses
As AI is adopted in marketing, manufacturing, and healthcare industries, the automation of jobs is a pressing concern. Eighty-five million jobs will be lost to automation between 2020 and 2025. However, as AI robots become smarter and more agile, fewer humans will be required to perform the same duties. By 2025, AI will provide 97 million new jobs, but many employees may be left behind if businesses don't upskill them.
Social manipulation
With its self-powered algorithms, social media is highly effective at target marketing. They have a solid idea of who we are, what we enjoy, and what we think. AI can target individuals identified by algorithms and personal data and spread any information they choose, in whichever style they deem most convincing — fact or fiction.
Privacy concern
It is currently possible to monitor and analyse an individual's every online and offline action. There are cameras virtually everywhere, and facial recognition algorithms can identify you. Since machines can acquire, track, and analyse so much information about you, they can use this data against you.
Reflections
Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Congressman Andrew Yang, and other AI professionals signed an open letter urging a six-month ban on training AI systems stronger. However, many prominent AI researchers and experts publicly disagreed with the letter's proposal and approach, and some of the original signatories later recanted their positions.
Conclusion
The accelerated development and expanding capabilities of AI raise numerous ethical concerns. In addition, there is a responsibility dilemma regarding both the machines and their creators and the standing of AI. Finally, the issue of human subjugation by AI is a cause for concern. Humanity has long desired a device that could not only adapt its behaviour to altering tasks and requirements but also acquire and apply knowledge, i.e. learning. From the level of fantasy, these visions eventually descended to the level of scientific inquiry.
AI has numerous advantages, such as organising health data and powering autonomous vehicles. AI improves cancer therapy, medical diagnostics, and car safety. Unfortunately, as our AI capabilities grow, so will the instances where it is misused for harm. Given the rapid progress in AI technology, we must begin discussing how to maximise the positive potential of AI while minimising its destructive potential. Some, however, argue that extensive regulation is required to augment the benefits of this promising technology.