Detailed Analysis On AI Warnings: Is It Really The “Biggest Existential Threat”?

The rapid evolutions of Artificial intelligence have reared a load of discussions; where some of its proponents are finding it immensely powerful to solve major social and health issues, there are other tech leaders and renowned scientists notifying its terrible warnings. The critics warned about the alarming situations, and have gone so far as to declare it “dangerous than nuke”, “biggest existential threat”, “a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.” and “it can end mankind”. Pondering upon the criticality of these cautions, it’s time to put aside bitmojis and focus on the depth of the matter.

Why would the big names, often known as tech revolutionaries, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, are all impressing upon the need to control Artificial Intelligence? None of them is advocating to restrict its development but to research on its serious impact on society.

The article will summarize the collective opinions and warnings of the influential scientists regarding the superhuman intelligence and its influence on humanity in the near future. As artificial intelligence is growing exponentially, will there be a real-life iron man to save the world from the Whiplash or there would be a need to summon a terminator?

With its ever-evolving cognitive clout, AI has introduced a wave of innovations in almost every field and industry. It is transforming the healthcare industry with the introduction of technology that can mimic human cognitive functions. Moreover, with machine learning and natural language processing, it is bringing massive improvisation within the industry, improving the life expectancy and curing severe diseases. The Deep Patient Program, unearthed techniques and linkages that doctors were oblivious of and identified new risk patterns for incurable diseases like cancers, and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, AI-powered bots have outperformed human surgeons and many new advancements are about to be surfaced in the industry.

Furthermore, it has brought a major shift in the technological landscape where AI has given tech giants a demystified way to establish human-machine interactions. With its integration, smartphones are introducing smarter options including facial recognition, voice recognition, ultra-efficient operating system and a lot to delight. Each year new smartphone models hit the market and awe-inspire users by powering their functionality with AI-bots and algorithms. However, when people are experiencing just a segment of AI, the critics are busy taking a look at the bigger picture.

The Collaborative Trepidations Of Elon Musk And Stephen Hawking About The Perils Of AI

“Robots might be coming for us” hits the headlines as the last warning of Stephen Hawking earlier this year. With the sad demise of the great scientist, many predictions and warnings got re-acknowledged which aroused a pool of discussions and debates among the torchbearers.

The author and a renowned physicist talked about things few others could; The Mystery Of Black Hole, True Nature Of Time and The Future of AI. His major concerns were related to the impact AI will create on humanity. He talked about the time when the robopocalypse will devastate the economy and take over every other industry making it hard for many people to earn a living.

“If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution.”- Hawking sharing his thoughts in the Reddit AMA session.

Supporting his point Elon Musk, the owner of the two tech giants (Tesla and SpaceX), warned from time and again about the havocs AI could create. He never advocated to restrict the scope of AI but have asked to authorize some national or international regulatory bodies to keep things under control.

Mr. Musk stated, “I am not normally an advocate of regulation and oversight — I think one should generally err on the side of minimizing those things — but this is a case where you have a very serious danger to the public,”

Over several places, he called for regulatory oversights. When speaking to the National Governors Association, “AI is a rare case where I think we need to be proactive in regulation than be reactive,”- Musk said in July. “

Losing jobs is not the prime concerns of Tesla’s Founder as he suspected AI to be a source of “better weaponry”. About the hazardous outcomes the misuse of AI could create, the de facto leading voice- Elon Musk went too far as to declare, “With artificial intelligence, we’re summoning the demon.”

Counter Statements by Some Leading AI optimists

To all such speculations and concerns against AI, many optimists and renowned entrepreneurs came up with different statements:

The Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated about AI warnings during his interview with 2018 Viva Technology:

“We need to make sure that we don’t get too negative on this stuff…” He further added, “Because it’s too easy for people to point to an individual failure of technology and try to use that as an argument to slow down progress.”

To which Elon Musk responded saying, “I have exposure to the most cutting-edge AI and I think people should be really concerned about it,”

Furthermore, Google’s head of AI, John Giannandrea, objected about the AI apocalypse, saying, “To the hype and the sort of sound bites that some people have been making…”I am definitely not worried about the AI apocalypse.”

To soothe the fire blazing against the freedom of using AI and its influence on humanity in the near future, a new report from the WEF- World Economic Forum surfaced highlighting the two sides of the picture. It claimed that by 2022, more than 75 million people will be removed from their current positions and robots will take jobs double the rate at which they are acquiring at the present. However, with such a massive shift in workforce dynamic, AI and the improvisation in technologies could open more than 133 million new jobs for humans to handle.

If we perceive this to be true then that puts the pressure on all those learners and experts who are acquiring skills for their future jobs, which may be diminished just when they will enter into their professional life.

Science Eliminating The Human Race

With AI and the rapid advancements in science, the researchers, scientist, and philosophers have all come together to advocate that AI could be an existential threat to the human race.

Philosopher Nick Bostrom, a well-renowned author of the best-selling book- Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, sketched a scenario about what would happen if AI suspects that humans are interfering, “At a pre-set time, nano-factories producing nerve gas or target-seeking mosquito-like robots might then burgeon forth simultaneously from every square meter of the globe.”

To many scientists, the idea of AI eliminating the human race seems to be more than science fiction. However, the depth of the matter can be highlighted from the fact that back in 2014 Stephen Hawking shed light on such predictions:

“While primitive forms of AI developed so far have proved very useful, I fear the consequences of creating something that can match or surpass humans. AI will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans who are limited by slow biological evolution couldn’t compete and would be superseded.”- Prof Stephen Hawking addressing AI in his session with BBC.

To keep tabs on an overflow of tech advancements, an open letter was composed back in 2015, by a number of physicists on the Science Advisory Board. The letter summarizes the capabilities of AI and the need to have proper regulatory oversight in order to secure the world from uncontrollable and incalculable destructions AI can create. The letter demanded keen monitoring and strategies to stop the misusers from producing something that they themselves could not control.

Wrapping Up

Although AI is being a source of innumerable innovations, powering technology by opening new avenues. From the way it improvises healthcare sectors to making life better for an individual, AI has a lot to offer. However, it leaves a shred of doubt that its worst side can be more terrorizing than the good one.

The point of such a brief discussion is not to stand against AI or to criticize the advancements, but to wonder what would happen if it gets in the wrong hand due to the lack of legislation. To support my point here is one of the most debated videos over the internet.

It shows how a simple bot can be a cause of massive destruction and how vulnerable humans could become in the near future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM

‘The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.’’- Steve Wozniak

As I draw closer to conclude my research, I would like to address the predictions proposed by the great Alan Turing- the father of Artificial Intelligence. His intellect, knowledge and unbeatable contributions are impossible to deny. Considering his unmatched excellence, here is what he predicted about AI.

“This is only foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is to be…it may take years before we settle down to the new possibilities, but I do not see why it should not enter any one of the fields normally covered by human intellect, and eventually compete on equal terms.”

June 11th 1949, The Times quoting Alan Turing

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