AI: Are You Ready for the Singularity?
If you’re into Sci-Fi classics, (or you are in my generation), you have probably seen the 1968 movie, “2001:A Space Odyssey”, and you remember this famous scene: Dave is locked out of the ship in space, he calmly says, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” After a cryptic pause, HAL responds, “I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.” HAL’s tone is referred to as “a chilling monotone that defines the scene as the movie's most memorable set piece.”?
In 1968, the concept of artificial intelligence or AI was considered “science fiction” (at least from my young mind’s perspective) and while I was intrigued by it, a part of me thought it totally unbelievable; and if I am honest, I was afraid….. for Dave, that is. I wasn’t afraid personally, because this stuff only happened in the movies, right?
The Terminator? movie franchise and television series, including Genisys and Skynet, heightened my interest in…err concern for…the growing use of AI, robotics, co-bots, cognitive assistants, and the like in our world. Remember when the robots, not the humans, were in control?… Hmm…Through powerful productions like Star Wars, Star Trek, the Matrix, Mission Impossible, the Marvel franchise (including Cyborg), M3GAN, Creator, and so many more films, the entertainment industry has continued to challenge us to envision a world fueled by, ..err, ..filled with AI.
What is AI? According to Gates, AI, or artificial intelligence, “refers to a model created to solve a specific problem or provide a particular service. What is powering things like ChatGPT is artificial intelligence.” (1)
In March of 2019, I published an article on LinkedIn entitled, “AI: IIoT, 4IR, & the Manufacturing Revolution, Part 2 ”. The article noted that while AI is often referred to as a “new’ technology, my team and I used AI extensively in process automation and process control projects at our textile manufacturing facilities over 20 years ago. (2)
The truth is that AI is not so “new.” As early as 1950,? the US military developed AI primarily as a tool for national defense. And through the years, it has continually evolved – as an emerging technology. (3)
Fast forward to 2024. There is no doubt that AI or artificial intelligence is one of the hottest “new” technologies" on the planet. While there are a number of drivers for the use of AI, the primary motive for its use by organizations and individuals is money. Irrespective of the industry sector – entertainment, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, retail, fashion, academia, architecture, art, marketing,…-- everyone is either using or trying to understand how to use AI. And if we are honest -- whether we admit it or not -- some of us are afraid. . not of Hal or Genisys or M3GAN…but we are a little anxious because we don’t quite understand what this rapid evolution of AI means for us…especially when we begin to think about the future.
The Benefits of AI are Real
“As AI emerges from research labs and IT back offices and into the mainstream, and humans and machines begin to collaborate more closely, the transformational possibilities of AI for both businesses and societies are enormous.” (5)
This morning I listened to a podcast about Bill Gates’ AI predictions for 2024, then read his Gates Notes (4), which both suggest that increased use of AI will result in change:
When I began writing this article a few months ago, I referred to AI as a technology in its infancy and felt that those who were further out – even lagging – in adoption, had plenty of time to learn and experiment with AI.
I was wrong…
“Intelligent economies, after all, will be made up of smarter businesses, and regardless of size or geographic location, every organization has the opportunity to leapfrog the competition. Those that are successful will probably prioritise the following approaches:
Experimentation: an approach based on identifying small early wins will lay the groundwork in terms of innovation and risk mitigation strategies for more ambitious deployments in future. Organisations will look to AI to help them better understand the needs of customers and citizens and then develop new products, services and business models that are more resilient to future economic uncertainty and competitive disruption.
Skilling up: a workforce that clearly understands the benefits that AI brings to their jobs and is equipped with the skills to use this technology to best effect will be well positioned to identify fresh opportunities, not just for increased productivity but also for personal career development. Smart employers will gear training and development accordingly.
Governance: organisations in both the private and public sector will build in appropriate governance and control mechanisms that evaluate the societal impacts of AI. They will pay particular attention to building trust in their AI solutions and ensure that the logic underpinning their algorithms is sound, unbiased and can be easily explained to customers, employees, and regulators.
In these ways, business leaders can make their own contribution to building tomorrow’s intelligent economies, not just for their own benefit, but for that of their workforce and society at large.” (5)
As I continue to seek to become educated about this fascinating “not so new” technology, I have spoken to professionals who are utilizing AI to enhance a plethora of tasks-? from marketing and personal branding, to enhanced software testing and delivery, to simulation and modeling in every industry from manufacturing to the financial industry, to research and analytics, from architectural restoration, to interstellar exploration, from academia to manufacturing, from healthcare to cybersecurity to gaming… … you name the discipline, or area of expertise and the possibilities for the use of AI appear to be endless.?
And I have found that the use of AI in our world has increased exponentially since I began my quest to understand AI as a critical enabler for both business and personal growth.
I am also trying to wrap my head around this concept of “singularity.” Have you heard of it?
The Singularity
TechTarget describes a singularity in technology as:
“… a situation where computer programs become so advanced that AI transcends human intelligence, potentially erasing the boundary between humanity and computers. The singularity would also involve an increase in technological connectivity with the human body, such as brain-computer interfaces, biological alteration of the brain, brain implants and genetic engineering. Neuro-nanotechnology, such as Elon Musk's experimental brain implant, Neuralink, is perceived as one of the key technologies that will make singularity a reality.
This intelligence explosion would significantly impact human civilization. First, AI would reach human levels of consciousness, intelligence, and capabilities, known as artificial general intelligence (AGI). Currently, there are no real-world examples of AGI. Some technologies exhibit human-like capabilities, but they're limited to only one field, such as generative AI programs like ChatGPT. AGI refers to machines that combine multiple capacities together, allowing them to do anything a human can do.
According to the theory of the singularity, after reaching AGI, these computer programs and AI will turn into super intelligent machines with cognitive capacities beyond that of humans. At this point human beings would no longer have control over them.
Machine intelligence superior to the human brain is also known as artificial superintelligence, a highly speculative concept. According to the theory, significant innovations in genetics, nanotechnology, automation, and robotics will lay the foundation for singularity during the first half of the 21st century.” (3)
?Scientists agree that we are a lot closer to the singularity than we think…
“Futurist Ray Kurzweil went so far as to set the date for 2045” (6) while “Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET—who holds a Ph.D. from Temple University and has worked as a leader of Humanity+ and the Artificial General Intelligence Society—told Decrypt that he believes artificial general intelligence (AGI) is three to eight years away."(7)
"Getting to the singularity, though, will require a significant leap from the current point of AI development. While today’s AI typically focuses on specific tasks, the push towards AGI is intended to give the technology a more human-like understanding of the world and open up its abilities. As AI continues to broaden its understanding, it steadily moves closer to AGI—which some say is just one step away from the singularity. The technology isn’t there yet, and some experts caution we are truly a lot further from it than we think—if we get there at all. But the quest is underway regardless.” (7)
“Entrepreneurs and public figures like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have expressed concerns over advances in AI leading to human extinction. In 2023, Musk and other AI professionals signed an open letter urging a six-month pause on AI research until regulations and responsible AI have been established.
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Meta, Google, and Musk are pursuing the rise of AGI. “Elon Musk created xAI in the summer of 2023 and just recently launched the chatbot Grok to “assist humanity in its quest for understanding and knowledge,” according to Reuters. Musk also called AI “the most disruptive force in history.” (3)
And Elon Musk’s controversial startup Neuralink has implanted a chip in a human brain for the first time, the billionaire said in a post on his X platform late Monday. The operation took place on Sunday and the patient was recovering well, he added.
Musk’s announcement could mark an important milestone for Neuralink’s efforts to usher potentially life-transforming technology out of the lab and into the real world. But he offered few details, and it’s unclear from Musk’s post how significant of a scientific advancement the implantation represents.” (8)
So, Are you Ready?
You don’t need to share your answer with me, but you do need to be honest with yourself. Because if you are just a little unsettled – even if it’s only about the potential disruption caused by one AI instance (such as ChatGPT or SORA) -- hopefully, this article will be the impetus you need to begin thinking more critically about AI, the transformational possibilities ahead, and how AI will affect/impact you and our world.
As has been the case with almost every new emerging technology,? some industries, markets, and individual companies are further down that road towards adoption than others. These early adopters have already begun to capitalize on the benefits of AI. Others are still trying to figure out how to integrate the use of AI into “business as usual” so that they can “control” its impact. Make no mistake, while AI may not have impacted you or your business right now, few business processes, or people like you and me for that matter, will remain untouched.
AI has already begun to cause me to question even more if what I see, hear, or read is real. A family member showed me this very handsome photo of himself, sitting on a yacht. It was beautiful and I immediately asked where the photo was taken. He chuckled as he responded that he gave an AI bot some verbal prompts and the photo was automatically generated. The picture was almost flawless. As I looked closer, being more intentional in the process, I could discern a few imperfections.
And AI is already performing tasks that humans would normally perform…faster and with unbelievable accuracy. What does this mean for us today? In the future? How will it affect our lives right here on Earth?
Consider the following AI contribution to exploration on Mars:
“In order for humans to survive trips to Mars, they’ll need oxygen—both to breathe and to fuel their rockets for travel back to Earth. Now, a team of scientists has designed a robot that could extract oxygen from water on the Red Planet, per a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Synthesis.
The robot, which the team calls an “A.I. chemist,” used a machine learning model to find a compound that could ignite an oxygen-producing chemical reaction on Mars. The compound, known as a catalyst, is made entirely from elements found in Martian meteorites—which means, if such a system could work reliably, space travelers would not need to bring oxygen or even the catalyst needed to produce it.”…
“Their robot analyzed five meteorites that either came from Mars or had a composition similar to that of the Martian surface. Using a laser, it identified significant amounts of iron, nickel, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and manganese in the samples.
From these six elements, the robot’s algorithm determined it could produce more than 3.7 million possible molecules to break down water and form oxygen on the Red Planet. Finding the best one from this extensive list would take roughly 2,000 years of human labor, the study authors write.” (9)
The Singularity is coming sooner than we think. Should we be afraid?
The innovator in me would answer with a resounding “No.”? Realistically, we are charting new ground every day with AI. And AI is evolving, learning more and more. With every instance of ChatGPT, SORA, or other AI widget, bot, script, program, etc., AI is learning – not just about our systems, products, processes, markets, and everything in our world...it's also learning more about us – humans.
And since we know AI is evolving much faster than we ever imagined, our first steps ought to be to lean into it – to learn as much as we can about it, its possibilities, and its potential impacts (both good and bad) on us personally and professionally, on our society, and on our world.
There is an excellent article by Daniel Bron, “The Singularity and Beyond: What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Surpasses Human Intelligence ?” (10),? that will at least get you started on the journey from awareness to education toward understanding.
The singularity is coming sooner than you think. Be ready!
Written by Peggie Ward Koon, Ph.D.
#artificialintelligence #stem #technologicalsingularity #agi #superintelligence
Sources:
(5) Twentyman, Jessica. “Intelligent Economies: AI’s transformation of industries and society.” The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2018. https://info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/EN-US-CNTNT-Whitepaper-Digital-Transformation-with-AI-Intelligent-Economies.pdf
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