The global rise in AI related worry
Alex Keeling RNR BSc (Econ) MBA
Non-Executive Director at NoWorriesApp.com & Aperta Events & Principal Consultant at Business Techniques
We are worrying about AI...and we should.
AI is creeping into all aspects of our lives with astonishing speed and a number of recent and genuinely thought-provoking articles, such as those in The Guardian and The Economist, and extensive BBC commentary, have explored the theme of AI related worry. Elon Musk has spoken out against the untethered advance of AI and said that a “Pause” was required.
There is, according to Musk, a compelling need to consider how we proceed with
this technological breakthrough. More importantly, Geoffrey Hinton – the godfather of AI – publicly resigned from Google citing real fears about the future of a technology which he was instrumental in bringing about.
But Musk’s desired pause is unlikely to materialise as companies such as Google and others seek to lead a market which could unlock astonishing wealth for the market winner. Hinton’s warning about the potential danger of AI is also likely to go unheeded. Hinton’s concern was simple but fundamental; what if computers overtake the intellectual capability and capacity of humans and start making wholly rational decisions independently? What happens? Being rational is great but the distribution of resources and means is not always a rational process; that is the role politics plays in our lives and, effectively, is the purpose of democracy.
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AI could and, unchecked, certainly will seep into all aspects of our lives. It will affect our wealth and career prospects and genuinely shape our futures. The last industrial revolution saw, simultaneously, the creation of massive wealth and appalling poverty. Industrial progress brought us the slums of the cities and the fast-spreading diseases such as cholera.
This all sounds very gloomy and these issues will all be overcome in time. So why is worry about AI so widespread?
The key issue with AI is that it is a technology, and a simultaneous industrial revolution, like no other. It’s never been seen before and we have no idea about the direction of travel. The level of uncertainty with AI is driving the global uplift in worry.
Based on Musk and Hinton’s commentary, AI will actually invent its own future and direction of travel; and all of this without a single shred of emotion.
Helping organisations to save time, costs and to be more efficient through the automation of their digital workflows and processes.
1 年Interesting times ahead Alex, especially with the recent announcement by BT to cut up up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade, mostly in the UK. Their CEO said “Whenever you get new technologies you can get big changes," We will have to find a way to embrace it and ultimately find a way of living with AI. Good article! .