Artificial Intelligence….Should We Be Worried?

Just over a year ago I attended a conference where they talked about IBM’s Watson and it learning how to read and identify issues in XRays, Cat Scans, Ultrasounds, etc. It was “learning” what was bad in the studies and had to be addressed. The goal was to cut down on the amount of studies that radiologists had to read and improve the quality of the reads of those studies. On top of this they were talking about teaching Watson to study Cancer, study and make suggestions on a bunch of different things to improve our daily lives. Interesting right?
I found it interesting being someone who owns an information technology service firm. The thought of “intelligent” systems improving the human condition was great. I then turned to look at all the automation and potential “intelligent” systems I have in my house and business. I also started thinking about autonomous cars and much of the automation we are already incorporating into our daily lives. All of which I think we can agree is on the up tick. So what assurances do we have that these systems cannot get hacked, or worse yet achieve a higher consciousness like in the Terminator movies. I have read afterall that many devices that are IoT (Internet of Things which means they are smart devices that can be controlled through the Internet) are not very secure and that hackers are actually taking control of these devices and using them for their own malicious purposes.
There are small software programs that are called “Botnets” that can run on PCs and other Internet connected devices. These devices are designed to collect data or continue to spread their infection often called Malware. They then report what they collect to a central location controlled by the hacker. So as I look at what capabilities are out there, it really is not a far reaching possibility that we could have some kind of hacking event that could impact our daily lives.
My recommendation would be using a good antivirus/antimalware program. Have good security with an updated firewall. Use secure passwords and unique passwords among all of your different accounts (I know it is easier to say than to do).
I hope this information is helpful and encourage anyone to reach out with questions via email at carl@heidentech.com, Twitter, Facebook, or Linked In. Otherwise you can find other information in my blog at blog.heidentechnology.com.