AI: myths versus reality
AI has been one of the most gravitating technologies over the last few years. It is that ray of light that has been passing through the lens of researchers worldwide. This ray of light ultimately converges at a single principle focus that concludes that “AI is the future” But the uncertainty is how the future will be?
Every other day, hundreds of tales are told about the implications of AI. Everyone has an opinion. More questions are raised than those are answered. Will someday, the Sun witness the slavery of humans to their robot overlords? Is the hype completely bombastic? or, is the truth somewhere behind the nook? Maybe.
Acclaimed physicist Stephen Hawking believed that AI’s future might take either of the two pathways. One that empowers humankind while another that ravages it. He further predicted the rise of strong AI to be either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to us. He articulated possibilities of AI amplifying the human brain. AI is that technical revolution that can undo the ramification done by its predecessor — the Industrial revolution. He further added that where there is the potential for good, there is for evil too. In the wrong hands, the development of full AI could spell the end of the human race.
Being one of the most highly debated topics, AI has several bubbles of myths around it that are far from reality. It is just like any famed celebrity with false rumors about his life, lol! Let us look through the most fabled myths about AI and their factual realities.
Myth 1: AI is going to take away jobs and further increase unemployment
Reality: AI will change existing jobs and pave the way for new ones instead
It is a great misconception that AI will rob away all the employment opportunities with time. AI will automate only repetitive jobs, for example, packing and assembly line workers in factories, office clerks, bus drivers, and several others. It certainly does not mean these workers will be jobless. It means they are at liberty to work on more challenging tasks. AI will allow us to use our brains creatively. Instead of doing the same repetitive tasks, we can take up something new.
Repetitive tasks can be handled effortlessly by a robot with greater precision and accuracy than humans. Robots haven’t reached that level of decision-making and creative thinking as we do. Some industries will be affected, workers will lose their jobs to get new ones. But, this has happened constantly throughout human history. The industrial revolution had caused massive displacements in the 1800s. However, that doesn’t imply that we have all our farmers and artisans replaced by industrial machines. Some farmers lost their agricultural lands to industries, in return, they witnessed a new form of livelihood as workers.
If AI is taking away some jobs then it is providing millions in return. The biggest opening being developing AI itself. However, it won’t happen overnight. Earlier, we were required to learn agricultural skills leaving behind hunting skills, industrial skills leaving behind agricultural, and programming skills to replace industrial. That is why programming and problem-solving skills are witnessing ever-growing demands. Kids are being taught coding since middle school these days. It is how the world will change with AI.
Myth 2:AI will outsmart human intelligence
Reality: AI is as smart as humans program it with their intelligence.
It is a misunderstanding caused by visualizing intelligence on a linear scale with animals at the bottom, humans at the intermediate level, and super-smart robots at the peak.
There are many ways to measure intelligence. In areas such as computation speed, computers have already surpassed humans, but in others such as creative potential, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking they are still well behind and are unlikely to catch up anytime soon.
The human brain is the smartest thing on the planet, and we would not be able to create an AI that is more advanced than the human brain. AI can’t exist without the people who build it. We build it, instruct it, and program it to work on our behalf.
Myth 3: AI will conquer humanity someday
Reality: As of today, Artificial General Intelligence doesn’t possess any ability to do so, and neither anytime soon
This myth comes in from many sci-fi scenarios like –The Terminator and The Matrix are perhaps the most common! However, after Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates have also marked AI with a red flag. If we blindly follow this then anything is possible in the distant future. The probability of Strong AI taking over the human species is as likely as aliens invading the earth!
If we go with what AI is today, one thing is highly doubtful. Why will anyone think of developing something that can make up its mind by itself against its human creators? The hypothesis inclines two things. One being robots develop self-preservation instincts. Secondly, they may re-interpret commands to protect human life. They might take it as humans should be brought under robotic control. As it is beyond belief that anyone would build machines with the facilities to carry out these actions autonomously, this is unlikely to be an immediate danger. It is just a possibility. Machines won’t certainly rise to rule during the lifetime of anyone reading this blog today! If you still feel AI can be hazardous then, surely you need to be worried about aliens, ok?
The bottom line :
Everything has got a risk factor. Success in developing AI would be the most celebrated event in human history. Woefully, it might also be the final, unless we learn how to avoid the risks. If we are worried about our future then we should focus on the real challenges. Climate change and weapons of mass destruction should seem more significant rather than visionary killer AI robots. As of today, AI is in our complete control. Research on making AI both robust and beneficial to us is necessary. It is what we need to pursue today.
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