Artificial intelligence has been one of humanity’s most intriguing developments in the last 100 years. Ever since the earliest days of the computer, we have been fascinated with the possibility of an artificial brain. Coupled with the fact that in the early 20th century great strides were made in brain research as well, artificial intelligence started to take flight.
Today, even though most people don’t know it, artificial intelligence is all around us. From game AI to self driving cars and autopilot on planes, AI surrounds us in our life. Even our helpful smartphone assistants like Siri or Google Assistant are AI. However, can these really be considered AI? Compared to how AI is portrayed in media, such as the movie Terminator, our AI today seem very docile compared to the horror and destruction shown in Terminator.
First of all, what really defines an AI? Alan Turing, whom many consider one of the people who contributed the most to our modern computers, devises a test called the Turing Test. The Turing Test tries to test if the behavior or intelligence of an AI is indistinguishable to that of a human’s. A normal conversation would take place between a human and an AI, and if a third party cannot distinguish which party is the AI, then the AI is considered to be truly intelligent. However, to this day, we have not devised any AI that are truly intelligent and independent.
Why would making AI smarter give us possibly negative implications in the future? Wouldn’t smarter AI’s help us out more? That is precisely what scientists are afraid of. When an AI truly becomes intelligent, to the point where it is indistinguishable from a human’s mind and fully capable of independent thought and action, that is when we don’t know what it is truly capable of. As humans, we are limited by our biological functions, but as a computer, the amount it can learn is limitless, and to achieve a goal it will do anything. As humans, we are also limited by our morality and empathy, but with computers, there is no such thing. If we do not make sure that these super-intelligent AI’s in the future are symbiotic with humanity, Terminator may very well play out. The next steps we take in AI research should be done so with caution, as one wrong misstep and humanity could be threatened.
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