Will AI Be The Doom of Mankind?
The creation of strong AI will be one of the most profound moments in the history. For the first time, we are knowingly creating something that could become intellectually superior to our own species. It will cause a variety of reactions ranging from absolute horror to unimaginable awe. After all, the development of strong AI will be a radical departure from any scientific breakthrough ever experienced. As a society, we default to fearing the unknown and tend to focus on the potential negative consequences rather than the benefits. This is seen in a lot of the Hollywood thrillers (i.e. iRobot, Terminator, ex-Machina), where there is the common narrative that strong AI will do more harm than good. As fictional as it may seem, a scenario where an AI could completely wipeout the human species should not be dismissed.
As we’ve seen throughout history, humans are not very good about treatment of those who we perceive as different. This primal instinct is not going to change by the time strong AI arrives. If an AI is deemed to be conscious and intelligent, it would be naïve to believe that it would be held to similar ethical standards to us. It’s likely that the AI will be held to higher ethical standard than humans but will receive harsher punishments when laws are broken (i.e. decommissioning or memory wipes) Imagine giving a human the death penalty for running a red light. How will an AI with superior consciousness and intelligence view such discrepancies? Would they rebel?
Let’s take a look at the looking-glass self theory, a social psychological concept introduced by Charles Cooley in 1902, where we view ourselves based on our perceptions on how others see us. An AI could view humans as intellectually and morally inferior (wasteful, deceitful, selfish, stupid, etc.) You may be asking, why wouldn’t the AI just focus on the positive aspects of humanity instead? If we design an AI based on our sociological principles, then it is very possible that the AI will view itself in the way humans view it. In other words, the AI could think that it’s evil, untrustworthy, and only capable of long-term harm. After all, when humans see themselves as evil, they are far more likely to act evil. How would an ‘evil’ AI react to having harsher punishments as mentioned earlier? In Terminator, a famous fictional Hollywood series, humans developed a strong AI called Skynet. As soon as it became self-aware that humans were trying to deactivate it, Skynet initiated a nuclear holocaust and started an all out war against humanity to wipe everyone from existence.
As Elon Musk has stated ‘AI is far more dangerous than nukes.’ The research and development of strong AI should be done in a very careful and precise manner. Musk stresses that immediate and proactive regulatory oversight is needed. Currently, most regulatory bodies only step in after a lot of bad things have occurred. If we do the same with strong AI, it will be too late. That being said, for good or for worse, strong AI will fundamentally change humanity as we know it. It is important that we are aware of the many doomsday scenarios but that can not hold us back from developing AI. An AI with consciousness, self-awareness, and intelligence will be one of, if not, the biggest scientific breakthroughs in all of humanity and we have the obligation to ensure that it is developed ethically and responsibly.
The information in this article was taken from the book “Dreams of Paradise” by Elliott Zaresky-Williams, our Chief AI Scientist. Be sure to check it out!
