Written by Tim Reynolds
Is society ready for the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence? Many major figures from Elon Musk to the Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, have opinions on this topic. Reed Hastings has said himself that we are 10 to 15 years from “conversing with machines.” Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk both believe that Artificial Intelligence will be the true downfall of humanity, that it will overthrow and dominate us inferior humans, and that it is something to keep limits on and to prevent from becoming too powerful a figure in our lives. The truth is that Artificial Intelligence is already pervasively embedded into our society. From Google-related things to the medical field, Artificial Intelligence has a commanding presence in modern life.
Did you know that we have artificial neural networks that are used to medically diagnose ailments such as cancer? And that these networks perform these operations with 97 percent accuracy? This software is rapidly approaching an efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis that will far surpass human doctors. When put in this context, Artificial Intelligence seems to be a force to embrace, not to fear.
Artificial Intelligence exists to convenience us. With each new advancement, human life is improved in some small or large way. Automated cars, for example, are right around the corner. Google plans on releasing them to the public in 2020, and already they have been better, safer, and more efficient when driving than when humans drive. They are better at reading distant signs, at assessing dangers, and they never get tired. In fact, in all of the 1.8 million miles it has driven, this vehicle has never once been involved in an accident where it was at fault. In most of the accidents, a human driver rear-ended the vehicle.
Every year, automobile fatalities kill 1.2 million people in the world. In the U.S. alone, 33,000 people die from automobile fatalities per year. This statistic is the equivalent of a 737 Commercial Airliner dropping out of the sky every single working day throughout a year. That sort of loss is not only unimaginable, but it would be entirely prevented by this Artificial Intelligence system. No more drunk driving, texting while driving, or falling asleep at the wheel.
Will Artificial Intelligence end the human race, or will it save it? Are the fears of Artificial Intelligence bound in reason, or bound in humankind’s innate habit to fear what it does not yet understand? Artificial Intelligence has already fundamentally changed how we think about our daily lives, and done so in such a way that we don’t even think about it as a luxury but as a basic appliance. The kinds of tools at our disposal today are conveniences our parents could not even imagine when they were our age. We have the entire compendium of all of human knowledge for all time in our pockets, weighing in at about half a pound of circuitry. Not only that, but it can also deliver food, water, clothes, and just about anything else you can think of directly to your doorstep with ease.
Guest Writer