Terminator, IRobot, Wall-E and many other movies depict artificial intelligence going rouge and taking a stand against humanity. For right now though we have robots that work in warehouses and ones that clean floors while bumping into everything, so right now I’m not too worried. Of course not to downplay what we have today because much like Larry Page said about the ability to get information at the click of a button through Google’s search database. “That seems routine now, but it’s a really big deal.”(Larry Page)
Some level and form of AI can be found in aspects of our daily lives from traffic control and driverless trains to our finances and retail experiences. Though what we have today if definitely not like original concept. “But that turned out to be wildly unachievable, in part because we still don’t really understand how the brain works, much less how to re-create it.”(Steven Levy) I agree with what Steven Levy says because it drives a good point into the discussion for the progression of AI. How can we truly create something that is supposed to represent our own intelligence if we don’t fully understand the reasoning behind it? In the past five years alone we’ve had major discoveries regarding the brain; from the ability to recreate video through brain activity to the work done regarding our brains wiring. I feel the progression of AI will only increase to the original concept as the discoveries of our own brains increase.
It’s hard to gauge the potential outcome for the future of the “AI Revolution” though it has shown major progression over the past few years. Most recently can be seen with the Google self-driving cars. Even though they currently still have the user assistance if necessary they aim to eliminate it. I feel when I’m in the passenger seat of a car, much like many others do, slightly nervous at the fact that you are not controlling the fast moving can. Seemingly that’s why Google has invested so much time and money into this project to assure safe, smart, self-driving cars though that is to still be seen. “Today’s AI doesn’t try to re-create the brain. Instead, it uses machine learning, massive data sets, sophisticated sensors, and clever algorithms to master discrete tasks.”(Steven Levy) That fact is what gives me cautious optimism regarding AI. Clearly our instincts and reactions aren’t perfect, but I for one would not give up my instincts in favor of AI for something with heavy consequences for miscalculation.
It’s hard to imagine ourselves without AI since it has gotten to a point where much like Steven Levy says; “But we must learn to adapt. AI is so crucial to some systems—like the financial infrastructure—that getting rid of it would be a lot harder than simply disconnecting HAL 9000′s modules.”(Steven Levy) Technologies that run our impressive yet rudimentary form of artificial intelligence have become so ingrained within our society that to simply take steps backwards would have drastic impacts. Regardless of if people are excited or displeased towards AI it seems to be the way of the future.
