Risks and Advantages Associated With Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Right from offering iPhone 5c or iPad 2 LCD replacement screens to offering simple payments with mobiles, the wheels of the technological world are really moving too fast. There was a time when you would look for simple automobile or radio parts from shop to shop and now, even mobile parts can be availed online that too from different vendors from all over the globe.

Nevertheless, here we are talking about the latest revolution called AI or the Artificial Intelligence. Technically, it includes everything from autonomous cars to Google’s search algorithms to IBM’s Watson and so forth. The present generation of users and researchers divides artificial intelligence into two categories, namely, narrow and general depending on the task it is being used for performing.

Do You Need To Be Concerned About Artificial Intelligence And Our Safety?

This can be one of the important questions related to its significance as the title of this post implies. So, why do you need to be concerned about AI safety?

On a positive note, the benefits of AI on society has motivated research in a multitude of fields that stretches from law to economics to technical topics that include verification, security, control, and validity. It may not be of much use if your laptop gets hacked or crashes. But if you wish your car to be controlled with your mobile or your microwave to find recipes of things that you place in the oven and gets you all recipes on your mobile screen, that is where AI works.

Recommended reading: The Era of Artificial Intelligence: 5 Ways AI is Changing the Web.

What Hinders The Progress Of AI And How Can We Overcome It?

The biggest challenge in progress of AI is the devastating race of lethal autonomous weapon systems that have the ability to destroy the entire human race. But the most important question in this respect is what will be the result if we succeed in creating the most efficient AI system that will be better than human brain in performing cognitive tasks?

How are we going to face that world then? All those sci-fi movies that show machines ruling the world might turn into a reality? If any such system comes into life, it will be capable enough of undergoing recursive self-improvement and achieving the highest levels of knowledge that will leave the human brain far behind.

This calls in for a constructive approach where AI is being used in the eradication of disease, poverty, war, and convert the concept of AI into one of the most influential and epic discoveries of human history. There are many experts and people who have expressed a lot of concern with respect to progress in this direction. It might be the last discovery we make in the field of science if we are not careful about it.

You may also like: 11 Technological Trends That Will Rule USA In 2017.

What Are The Dangers Possessed By This New Concept Actually?

Now moving into the details of risks posed by AI. The biggest one that experts have is that it will not have any affinity for human emotions like hate or love. We have no reason to convert AI into an intentionally malevolent or benevolent character.

The second concern is what if AI has been programmed for the ultimate devastation of this planet. Whatever be the rivalries between different nations, none has the ability or power or consent to wipe out the other one and its supporters completely which is a good thing.

This is where emotions and sense of humanity plays a crucial role. But imagine machines and systems deciding to play against their rivals. They wouldn’t have emotions, all they have is just a task of elimination how would you stop that. An AI arms race will evidently turn into an AI war one final day. The more intense the war the difficult it will be to design a system that has an off switch. Imagine the implications of that.

Right now, AI is only limited to narrow and general level. Imagine the day it grows to complete an autonomous level. The second concern is a more genuine one. Imagine you program AI for a constructive task, and it adopts a destructive methodology. It can easily happen when we fail to sync our personal goals with AI’s objectives.

For example, say you ask your completely obedient vehicle to take you to a destination in a minimum possible timeframe. It is possible that it will break all traffic rules and wouldn’t bother to hurt anyone as its only aim is to reach the destination in given time no other instructions need to be heard. It is, for this reason, we need to hold our horses and keep the reigns of an autonomous world in our hands.

This article is written by Lisa Parker from iCell Spare Parts. She loves pursuing excellence through writing and has a passion for writing in every domain. She is covering different fields in writing, and her work has been published on various sites related to traveling, health, mobile parts online shopping and technology peeks & perks. Follow her on Google+.