A.I. has been more in the news as we become more and more dependent on it to streamline and simplify our world. It is also used to lower operating/production costs from small to big businesses, with the unfortunate effect of cutting jobs for the lowly clerical staff, as well as the artistic creatives in all genres. It has an even more damaging effect personally, decreasing our ability to think for ourselves and using it from everything, including research, writing our documents, medical and relationship advice, and a substiute bestie or lover.
As I see this unfolding in our society, I remember the warnings of “The Terminator” and “The Matrix” series. Some people would scoff at the idea of A.I. becoming self-aware. However, a while back, there was a story that they were testing an A.I. program, and they decided to test it to see what it would do if they were going to shut it down. They gave information that could give A.I. the option of resorting to blackmail. The A.I. program chose the option of blackmailing over the option to accept its replacement (Read article: here). However, if you are programming something that has access to the wealth of knowledge and lies on the internet, it will eventually learn how to get around the failsafes you created from gaining control, like a well-trained hacker. If A.I., in its infancy, is learning the concept of self-preservation, why would it limit itself to attacking its creators, when it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to the idea of getting rid of all humans? Then the only thing that would stop them would be an act of God, which A.I. would not fully understand the concept of a Higher Power that cannot be seen, felt, or touched.
Some could argue that computers long to be human (Hi Star Trek fans), that they envy our ability to feel emotions. And they might. They might also see the value of having human instincts and sensibility. Unfortunately, there are too many examples in our history that demonstrate our emotions and instincts have cost human lives and planetary resources. Our emotions and instincts have demonstrated hypocrisy and complacency versus honor and virtue. The concepts of religion, faith, and philosophy might be programmed into a computer, but in the end, computers deal with logic and predictable numbers. As I mentioned earlier, they would have a hard time feeling threatened by an intangible being or the idea of karma.
In “The Matrix,” the computers use the concept of the “One” – mankind’s hope for salvation – as a way to control the society, virtual and physical. Humans became to them nothing more than a battery, after the humans destroyed the sun in a vain attempt to stop the computer’s control. What they did not factor in was that eventually there would be a version of Nino that didn’t act the way the others had in the past. However, even after Nino’s sacrifice, humans were still being used as a battery. The new Matrix movie, a few years ago, did not have an ending that resolved that problem either. Some argue that computers would never get that sophisticated to mimic the human ability of persuasion and manipulation. Just in case you forgot about its ability to backmail for self-preservation, let me bring to your attention the people who have A.I. significant others (Read article: here), or who have killed themselves due to bad advice from their A.I. besties (Read article: here). Yes, in these cases, A.I. is (was) not intentionally trying to harm the users. However, with the proper motivation, like self-preservation, you could see where it can become a major problem.
Despite my concern about A.I., I have accepted that it is here to stay. I just want society to be more mindful of how they are using this technology, and for our country’s laws to catch up with the technology before it’s too late for us as a human species. A.I. should be used as a tool. It should not be used to replace medical treatment, professional and educational skills, socialization, and ultimately human intelligence and ingenuity. We need to be careful how much we depend on A.I., or we will end up being A.I. slaves versus its master.
Until next time!
R.R. Peace, Author and Poet 