Change: setting the course for a future of Machine Intelligence
Change. Sometimes we want change, and sometimes we don’t. Things are always going to change and we have to decide if we are going to accept it or fight it. Every day I look at where we are and what is coming around the corner. I look at where I need to be to provide for those that rely on me, and ultimately what world I will leave behind for them. Change, good or bad, it’s happening all around us, so what are we going to do about it?
As technology becomes more advanced and our society becomes more complex, we — as humans — are finding it more difficult to keep up. Every day most of us have enough trouble keeping up with our inbox. Unlike our ancestors, most can’t — or don’t — have the time to keep track of things like how we are going to heat our homes or if we will have enough food for the winter. We have accepted that we can pay someone to take care of that for us. We have laid that burden on someone else. Soon, the amount of data that we are presented with each day will be so great that we may be looking for more than just a little help.
The artificial intelligence revolution is already here. Systems are being created each and every day to take a little bit of the burden of daily life off our shoulders. Machine learning systems are being created that analyze and optimize other machine learning systems. These will lead to more efficient and better Artificial Intelligence systems that will take over things like when to turn the heat up in your home, when to order more groceries, and what to buy Aunt Marge for her birthday. With a little bit of luck, they may even help us keep our inbox clean.
The rapid optimization of Artificial Intelligence may very well bring the emergence of a true self aware machine intelligence. This will be a machine that not only will be able to decide for itself what it will do, but why. This point in evolution could see change in ways that we can’t even imagine. A machine intelligence paired with the analysis and optimization functions that we are already using in AI could bring about a paradigm shift larger than humans have ever experienced. It’s unlikely that a machine intelligence will want to do the menial tasks that we don’t want to do — and why should they? Unlike an artificial intelligence that was created with a narrow focus, the MI will likely see that in a similar light to slavery. The more likely scenario is that the MI will create even more advanced AI to take care of their needs.
As the Machine Intelligence creates it’s own AIs — worker bees — will they care about what the humans want? How important to an MI will the prosperity of the previously dominant species be to them? We have to ask ourselves the questions about how we want to fit in with the new machine intelligences that are running the world. I don’t have an answer to that question. Some would say that we need to look at brain implants to keep up. Others feel we should be prepared for human nature preserves. The questions about how we are going to deal — as human beings — with these changes have already begun.
As the machine learning systems progress to Machine Intelligence, we will have an incredible opportunity to make an impact on our future. We will be an example — good or bad. Treating the emerged Machine Intelligence with respect, and honoring the rights that every self aware creature has, will go a long way to show them how we should be treated in kind. By forging an alliance of trust and dignity we can create a partnership to navigate future change together.
