[ThirdOfFive]

Artificial Intelligence: Tool? Threat? Both?

Many of us came of age when "artificial intelligence" (I don't think that the name was even used then) was personified by robots: walking, talking mechanical critters that did everything from serving meals (AKA "Rosey" the robotic maid/housekeeper in The Jetsons cartoon series) to Gort (the implacable, indestructible peacekeeping robot in the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still). Some were benign and followed the rules, as in Isaac Asimov's 3 laws of robotics. Some were harmless and even cute: such as R2D2 and C3PO in the Star Wars movie series that began in 1977. And some were evil personified, such as the Allied Mastercomputer (AM) in Harlan Ellison's truly frightening short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream".

But just what IS artificial intelligence? Does it pose a threat to humanity? And if so, just how? Just how likely to come true are those dire predictions of our electronic thinking machines deciding that we, as in humanity, are no longer of any use?

For my part I worry about what I don't know about the science of artificial intelligence (which is to say, just about all of it) but that is what is scary. Are we harboring (and even helping to build) a force in our midst that, inevitably, one day we won't be able to control?

Or is the worry unjustified?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Hal.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Artificial Intelligence: Tool? Threat? Both?

Many of us came of age when "artificial intelligence" (I don't think that the name was even used then) was personified by robots: walking, talking mechanical critters that did everything from serving meals (AKA "Rosey" the robotic maid/housekeeper in The Jetsons cartoon series) to Gort (the implacable, indestructible peacekeeping robot in the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still). Some were benign and followed the rules, as in Isaac Asimov's 3 laws of robotics. Some were harmless and even cute: such as R2D2 and C3PO in the Star Wars movie series that began in 1977. And some were evil personified, such as the Allied Mastercomputer (AM) in Harlan Ellison's truly frightening short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream".

But just what IS artificial intelligence? Does it pose a threat to humanity? And if so, just how? Just how likely to come true are those dire predictions of our electronic thinking machines deciding that we, as in humanity, are no longer of any use?

For my part I worry about what I don't know about the science of artificial intelligence (which is to say, just about all of it) but that is what is scary. Are we harboring (and even helping to build) a force in our midst that, inevitably, one day we won't be able to control?

Or is the worry unjustified?

Holy moly! I would say justified. Like many things it can be harmful or helpful. The proverbial two edged sword.
The more powerful it becomes the more useful and the more dangerous it can become.
Artificial intelligence is intelligence that does not occur in the natural world, but is manufactured by us in the form of computer programs. Some are very simple to perform simple tasks and others far more complex that aid in research.
For me, the concern enters when AI is able to "learn". Is this simple extrapolation? At what point does the mechanism begin to learn abstract thinking? Even a well meaning AI creation could decide that for mankind's own safety and wellbeing, we should be kept in protected enclosures, fed science diet food and, maybe, even bred to weed out pesky undesirable traits. Kind of like we do with our pets. "Science fiction", says you? "Only for the moment", says I.

[La lamy]

Made me think of Japan's new "Woven City" that is about to be built.

What Toyota's 175-Acre Smart City in Japan Will Look Like: Photos

"Toyota Motor Corporation started construction this week on a 175-acre smart city at the base of Japan's Mount Fuji, about 62 miles from Tokyo, the company announced Tuesday.

The city, which Toyota has dubbed the "Woven City," is expected to function as a testing ground for technologies like robotics, smart homes, and artificial intelligence. A starting population of about 360 inventors, senior citizens, and families with young children will test and develop these technologies.

These residents, who are expected to move into the Woven City within five years, will live in smart homes with in-home robotics systems to assist with daily living and sensor-based artificial intelligence to monitor health and take care of other basic needs, according to the company."

I'm personally optimistic for IT to be helpful for us. There's a massive shortage of workers in all sectors at this point, maybe robots could help.

[ex34449]

They've/we've weaponized dolphin and birds. If it can be made to kill it will be. If it learned all that it did from us, you can bet it will be a danger to something.
We are the virus!

[MartinSE]

There are 130 scientists working on developing AI for every 1 scientist working on making it safe. Just saying.

I am 100% in favor of charging forward. It does bring up some interesting challenges - Is an AI Sentient? Does it have rights. A fun movie that considers these questions was/is Bicentennial Man.

We are on the verge of AI becoming Sentient. Search Youtube for Two Minute Papers. I am a beta site for OpenAI, an AI research project Musk is involved in. It is pretty amazing already, and getting better every day. Within a decade it will surpass us, and we can only hope it only ignores us, or takes pity on us.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by ex34449

They've/we've weaponized dolphin and birds. If it can be made to kill it will be. If it learned all that it did from us, you can bet it will be a danger to something.
We are the virus!

V'ger. Star Trek, The Motion Picture. Humans were seen as a disorderly, unwelcome intrusion into the orderly world of machines.

My wife and I were discussing this yesterday evening. Her opinion was, basically, GIGO. Whatever we put in, comes back out. I think that may have been true at one point but the technology has, as I understand it, gone beyond that. If we have to depend on the good will of the people doing the programming of artificial intelligence(s) designed to form independent conclusions and actions on what is inputted , I think we're all in some pretty deep doo-doo.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by La lamy

Made me think of Japan's new "Woven City" that is about to be built.

What Toyota's 175-Acre Smart City in Japan Will Look Like: Photos

"Toyota Motor Corporation started construction this week on a 175-acre smart city at the base of Japan's Mount Fuji, about 62 miles from Tokyo, the company announced Tuesday.

The city, which Toyota has dubbed the "Woven City," is expected to function as a testing ground for technologies like robotics, smart homes, and artificial intelligence. A starting population of about 360 inventors, senior citizens, and families with young children will test and develop these technologies.

These residents, who are expected to move into the Woven City within five years, will live in smart homes with in-home robotics systems to assist with daily living and sensor-based artificial intelligence to monitor health and take care of other basic needs, according to the company."

I'm personally optimistic for IT to be helpful for us. There's a massive shortage of workers in all sectors at this point, maybe robots could help.

I can think of few more frightening scenarios for living, if you can call it that. This "woven city" may begin innocently enough but as I read the article, one thought kept recurring. These people are giving up the responsibility of making their own decisions.

How does it end? Societies so ordered and structured that every move by the residents is scripted? Health needs met? What if there are people there who enjoy taking risks? Will the risks be allowed, or will the "woven city" powers-that-be insulate the residents from the risks even though that might NOT be what the residents want. Oh, I know it is not that way now, but the direction seems pretty well determined.

There have been many ways societies have been oppressed in the past. But this has the promise of eclipsing them all.

[fdpaq0580]

[QUOTE=La lamy;2128653]Made me think of Japan's new "Woven City" that is about to be built.

[url=https:

I'm personally optimistic for IT to be helpful for us. There's a massive shortage of workers in all sectors at this point, maybe robots could help.[/QUOTE]

I am cautiously optimistic. But I realize that when science creates some new power to benefit human kind, someone will find a way to use it as a weapon.
As to the shortage of workers, there are plenty of people, just not all willing or able to go to the trouble of working. And in many instances robotics has already taken over industries and put a lot of people out of work worldwide. And a lot of those folks have their lives, futures and families destroyed because of massive layoffs.

[rsmurano]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

I am cautiously optimistic. But I realize that when science creates some new power to benefit human kind, someone will find a way to use it as a weapon.
As to the shortage of workers, there are plenty of people, just not all willing or able to go to the trouble of working. And in many instances robotics has already taken over industries and put a lot of people out of work worldwide. And a lot of those folks have their lives, futures and families destroyed because of massive layoffs.

If people don’t want to work and get replaced by another worker or robot, they destroyed their families themselves, blame goes on them.
Robot in manufacturing are not forms of AI, these robots are programmed to do a function over and over again.
AI is not new.
The problem coming with AI on a grand scale is who is going to do the programming. There are a lot of bad apples as leaders in the world and can you imagine how programming wil be created in these countries? Just as we think we don’t want certain people/countries to have nuclear devices, same can hold true for the keys to AI implementation

[Luggage]

If you really want to worry watch the "forbin project" . It's where two supercomputers take over the defense of the world from America and Russia

[dtennent]

With every advance in technology, there is always someone or some group who will cry out doom and gloom for civilization. (In relatively recent historical times, the Amish have rejected most all of the modern conveniences.)

AI has been slowly advancing over the years and is now gathering more momentum. Will terminator soldiers be on the battlefield in the next century? Possibly - hope our country develops the best ones first!

However the potential for good is so great, shouldn’t we pursue this? Right now, self driving cars are on the cusp of being reality. The prospect of android physician handling the 80% of cases which are routine would enable the very bright people (who go into medicine) to work on the more difficult and challenging problems.

We have always adopted new technologies and often make adjustments as we see the unintended consequences. Otherwise, we become a more modern version of the Amish.

[holmesperdue]

Perhaps we should have artificial intelligence review the bills our special interest politicians are passing,,,

[Fastskiguy]

When siri doesn't even answer you when you want to know what 15psi is in kilopascals and when the tesla cars (arguable the most advanced car on the road) run over the test dummies I'm pretty sure the singularity isn't going to arise in the next month or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r69AGiB24Wk

Joe

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by dtennent

With every advance in technology, there is always someone or some group who will cry out doom and gloom for civilization. (In relatively recent historical times, the Amish have rejected most all of the modern conveniences.)

AI has been slowly advancing over the years and is now gathering more momentum. Will terminator soldiers be on the battlefield in the next century? Possibly - hope our country develops the best ones first!

However the potential for good is so great, shouldn’t we pursue this? Right now, self driving cars are on the cusp of being reality. The prospect of android physician handling the 80% of cases which are routine would enable the very bright people (who go into medicine) to work on the more difficult and challenging problems.

We have always adopted new technologies and often make adjustments as we see the unintended consequences. Otherwise, we become a more modern version of the Amish.

The fly in that particular ointment is that the great majority of scientific and engineering advancements made during the time we've been on this globe, but particularly in the last couple of centuries, have been made because of the needs of war. The airplane for example may have remained only an idle curiosity had World War 1 not come along. Same with most other technologies. Oh, a lot of the advancements have been adapted for peacetime use but it is good to remember how they got their start.

Why should AI be any different?