Be the hand that rocks the AI Cradle!

Since times immemorial, humanity has been witness to transformative inventions which have truly changed the fabric of society, often times in exponential ways. Right from the invention of fire, language, the printing press, electricity, nuclear power, the World Wide Web to now Artificial Intelligence, the all-important question always has been ‘how do we capitalize on the transformative power of these breakthrough innovations while simultaneously reigning in on their ill-effects’.

AI is no different from the past innovations but is such a phenomena on steroids! It is a mega-technology which holds implications, far diverse than we mere mortals can ever potentially fathom. Having succumbed multiple times over the past 60+ years to what are known popularly as the ‘AI winters’, AI has now finally come of age and there seems to be no turning back. Backed by the trifecta of exponential increase in computing power, data and algorithmic power, the impact of AI is growing significantly. AI is now pervasive and embedded in every facet of our lives. This time is truly different and driven by support from the governments, large multinational corporations and a thriving start-up ecosystem, AI is now for real!

While we should surely count our blessings for the goods that we expect AI will deliver, we need to be cognizant of the myriad unintended consequences that need to be dealt with in its wake. The voices of concern against AI have been rising in a crescendo including from very notable luminaries in the field and discussing AI & its discontents is a serious matter needing urgent attention. The discontents run on a continuum from the dystopian prognostications of a complete annihilation of mankind to massive inequality, rampant joblessness and propagating bias & injustice in our society. And all this, when we are just getting scratching the surface in terms of AI’s true potential compared to what it will be when the much awaited ‘Artificial General Intelligence’ or ‘Super Intelligence’ arrives.

As AI continues on its relentless march to dominance in the world (and maybe to Interstellar space), it behooves us to deeply introspect & debate on how we nurture AI from its current infancy to ensure that it continues to promotes broader societal good, economic growth and an equitable society, while limiting its ills whether they be of an apocalyptic nature or the mundane type. How we as a collective society build the character of AI will determine what a future guided by AI bodes for us. Much work is already underway on themes like ‘Responsible AI’, ‘Human-Centered AI’ and ‘Beneficial AI’ but the issue on hand is urgent and we need to collectively take the responsibility of being ‘the human hand that rocks the AI cradle’ and ensuring that AI grows into adulthood as we want it to.  

Our wise guiding hand can only ensure that AI delivers on the promise of trillions of dollars of economic impact, significantly moves the needle on creating a just and equitable society and delivers the goods. After all is said and done, Artificial Intelligence is still the brain child of human cognition and its power to ascendancy does not imply the decline or surrender of the human cognitive prowess which is originally behind AI’s growth to prominence. Artificial Intelligence and the future vision that it creates will not be a slave to the whims of some unexplainable deep learning programs let loose, but instead be guided by the human hand that has rocked the AI cradle ever since its inception.

While the objective of taming AI and nurturing it by being the hand that rocks the AI cradle is absolutely noble, practical challenges do exist that need to be addressed. The structural deficiencies in AI need to be understood in the right light to get to the root of the issues and address the same.

The prominent issues that need to be addressed center around aspects of AI Safety, AI Bias and Explainable AI. The output of AI algorithms is to a large extent a reflection of the data that we feed them. This is how bias in data rears its ugly head. If the data that guides the development of these algorithms is biased, the output surely will be biased. AI Safety and more importantly individual privacy have become an urgent imperative. Mitigation is needed on this count to de-bias the data and ensure that the data is representative of all groups. Explainable AI is an imperative for acceptance & wide spread adoption of AI.

Another key aspect that needs to be addressed is on how AI will interpret and align with the human striving, objectives and goals if it has to be truly ‘Human-centric Beneficial AI’. It is a task easier said than done given the complexities associated with our human psyche, nature and our ever changing disposition. The human rationality (or lack thereof) has been a subject of intense research and will be a monumental task which AI will necessarily have to overcome in its quest for super-intelligence. Varied human emotions and motivations will constantly muddy the waters further for the development of AI. In developing a truly successful AI for the future, one of the most significant challenges will be the ability of AI to align with the definition of what it means to be human and acquire human like perceptual capabilities.

In summary, the rise of Artificial intelligence need not be accompanied by a corresponding increase in Human stupidity. The onus lies on us humans to ensure that we provide the right moorings and adequate guard-rails to ensure that AI is truly a force for good. In effect, let us be the collective hand that rocks the AI cradle and nurtures it!