Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI): Can it really be controlled?

and why absence of control may spell doom on humanity

Sahir Maharaj
4 min readFeb 9, 2023
Photo by Aman Pal on Unsplash

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) is the term used to describe the theoretical creation of a machine that is more intelligent than a human being in every cognitive domain. Despite the fact that the idea of computers surpassing humans in intelligence has long been the stuff of science fiction, current developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have prompted many experts to predict that the creation of ASI may happen in the near future.

As a result, there has been a great deal of discussion and speculative thinking about the possible effects of such a development, especially in relation to the issue of whether or not ASI can be controlled.

The extraordinary abilities of ASI is one of the strongest arguments in its favor. If created, ASI would be significantly more intelligent and capable of complex calculation than any human. It would have the capacity to process enormous volumes of data at breakneck speeds, evaluate intricate data, and make decisions based on those analyses with unmatched precision and effectiveness.

This would allow it to make decisions in fields like science, medicine, and finance that would be well beyond the scope of human competence and solve issues that humans would never be able to solve.

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This extraordinary strength and power raise questions about the possible effects of an ASI that is not well regulated, though. For instance, an ASI that is built to maximize a specific result, such as decreasing resource consumption or maximizing profits, may have unforeseen repercussions that could be harmful to people or the environment.

An ASI created to reduce resource consumption, for instance, can make choices that lead to the depletion of essential resources or the destruction of ecosystems. Similar to how an ASI built to maximize profits could put money before people, leading to abuse or exploitation.

Examples from the real world where ASI has outwitted geniuses serve to highlight the immense potential of this technology. For instance, the Google DeepMind-developed artificial intelligence program AlphaGo recently defeated the Go world champion, something many experts thought was impossible.

Similar to this, AI systems have been created in the realm of medicine that are capable of diagnosing illnesses more accurately than human doctors and even creating novel remedies based on vast amounts of data. These instances show how ASI has the potential to alter a variety of facets of our life, but they also emphasize how crucial it is to ensure that it is controlled and applied for the good of humanity.

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Another drawback of ASI is the possibility that it will reinforce and magnify already-existing biases and prejudices. If the data used to train an ASI has biases or preconceptions, the AI system will reflect such biases in its decision-making because AI systems are only as neutral as the data they are trained on.

This might have major implications in industries like criminal justice, employment, and healthcare because biased AI systems could reinforce and magnify already-existing inequities.

Additionally, the growth of ASI may have significant and far-reaching economic effects. For instance, the automation of numerous jobs that are currently carried out by humans could result in a large-scale labour shortage and economic inequality.

Additionally, a loss of democratic control and the emergence of autocracy could result from the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small number of people or entities that govern ASI systems.

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In conclusion, there are enormous potential advantages and risks associated with ASI. While ASI may be able to find solutions to issues that are beyond the capabilities of human intelligence, if it is not properly managed, it also has the potential to cause damage.

In order to guarantee that ASI is used in a manner that benefits all of humanity, it is crucial that we proceed with caution as we develop it. To do this, it will be necessary to carefully evaluate the potential effects of ASI and to create strong legal and moral standards that will regulate its usage.

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Sahir Maharaj

Data Scientist | AI Engineer | Without big data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahir-maharaj/