Artificial Intelligence is a Threat to Humanity

Published by James Taylor

Artificial Intelligence is a phenomenon in computer science that enables machines to have varying attributes of human intelligence. This is to say that the machines can imitate human behavior. Much has been said about this issue by people in different fields of expertise. There have been arguments on its impact on humanity.

Artificial Intelligence poses threat to humanity. Respected individuals in the field of science and technology have voiced their concerns on this issue. Bill Gates who is the co-founder of Microsoft has raised his concerns regarding AI from time to time. This has happened on different technological summits. He is more worried about the fact that people do not seem to be worried by this issue at all (DeLooper, 2015). According to him, there is need to feel more concerned about the issue since it will have more negative impacts on humanity than most people anticipate. Stephen Hawking who is a cosmologist and theoretical physicist has also warned of the imminent threats that are likely to accrue with the use of AI in the development of weapons. In 2014, he cautioned people that development of full Artificial Intelligence would spell the end of the human race. Motors CEO; Elon Musk has also made a contribution to this issue. In 2014, he donated $10 million USD to FSI so that they can run a global research program that would help to avoid the threats associated with AI (DeLooper, 2015). Musk views Artificial Intelligence as an “existential risk”. Nick Bostrom who is a philosopher has published a book that explains how and why AI is catastrophically dangerous to humanity. This is just to mention a few individuals that think AI is a threat to humanity. These people are well informed with regards to science and technology, and therefore, their sentiments should not be ignored.

Imagine if Artificial Intelligence is responsible for things like weapons and weapon control systems. This would mean that they have the ability to attack various targets without humans’ direction. This could result in the development of global arms race, and it would be extremely disastrous. In the current technological society, there is reliance on complex systems, which are vulnerable to failure in unpredictable and complex ways. Nuclear power reactors have the probability of melting, deep water oil wells may blow out taking excessive time to be resealed, and rockets can explode. Intelligent machines are likely to fail in different capacities too. Wouldn’t these failures be catastrophic?

People need to worry about the effects that artificial intelligence will have on humanity. Scientists have issued a warning citing that rapid strides towards the development of AI will result in mass unemployment. Intelligent machines will replace humans in all sectors of the economy. It will affect everyone ranging from sex workers to drivers. This is because the machines will have the ability to outperform humans in the execution of different tasks. Imagine if the unemployment rate was to increase from the current levels. According to World Bank’s 2014 report, countries such as Macedonia, Mauritania and Lesotho had an unemployment rate of 30.2%, 31.9%, and 34.9% respectively (Ford, 2015). These are already huge figures for unemployment rates. Imagine that such figures would be made even worse with the rapid adoption of AI. There would be increased poverty, hunger, illiteracy, dependency, crime, reduced life expectancy among other things. Would the world be a better place to live? The answer is definitely no. This is to say that AI is a threat to humanity, and the earlier that people embrace this ideology, the better it will be in finding solutions that will prevent AI from making life unbearable to humans.

References

DeLooper, C. (2015). Is Artificial Intelligence Really A Threat To Humanity?. Tech Times. Retrieved 27 October 2016, from http://www.techtimes.com/articles/80029/20150828/artificial-intelligence-really-threat-humanity.htm

Ford, M. (2015). Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Basic Books.

Jones, T. (2015). Artificial Intelligence: A Systems Approach: A Systems Approach. Kansas: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Artificial Intelligence and Banking