The Potential Problems With Artificial Intelligence
By Brian Berletic
ActivistPost.com
MARCH 15, 2016
Artificial intelligence (AI) is, simply put, intelligence exhibited by software and machines. Intelligence itself could be defined as the ability to learn and solve problems. In nature, evolution has endowed many species with intelligence, and human beings in particular with a relatively formidable ability to learn and solve problems.
BM’s Watson can be posed questions in natural human language to which it can answer by “reading” amassed knowledge such as encyclopedias.
Human intelligence has allowed our species to diverge from evolutionary and natural environmental constraints, giving us mastery for better or worse over the planet and all other life upon it. We have done this through technology which includes the simplest forms of tool-making to the most complex machines we use to ply the seas, skies, and even outer space.
Our natural, human intelligence has given rise to exponential technological progress; and, amid that progress, we have begun to create an artificial intelligence through computer science unconfined by natural evolution, biological limitations, and thus able to accelerate exponentially faster than our own intelligence has developed.
An example of where AI is today is IBM’s Watson computer. It was able to answer questions posed in natural language using four terabytes worth of content stored to memory and win a game of Jeopardy, an American TV quiz show. That might not sound like a big deal; but, essentially, it was posed a question, and was able to learn enough to answer it, which some could argue is the essence of intelligence.
As systems surpass Watson and their ability to ‘answer questions’ improves, it won’t be long until the questions they are answering are questions we ourselves cannot answer. It will be at this point when AI will surpass human abilities and where real danger lies. But danger might lie even beforehand.
Human-Human Disparity
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