Artificial intelligence is concerned with the theory and development of computer systems
capable of doing tasks ordinarily performed without human intervention but requiring human
intellect for visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation.
It is an interdisciplinary skill with several viewpoints.
AI advancement is currently causing a progressive shift in the IT industry's division.
Although AI is touted as one of the most promising emerging technologies, many corporate leaders
and technology enthusiasts see it as a significant threat to humanity, necessitating further
research into its long-term implications.
Elon Musk, on the other hand, has issued a dire warning about what would happen if AI
took over.
What is this warning about, and what should we do about it?
In today's video, we talk about Elon Musk's terrifying warning that could mark the end
of humanity as we know it!
AI is being applied in so many impressive, creative, and beneficial ways across almost
every industry.
Regardless of industry, the unifying denominator is that AI frequently works behind the scenes
to optimize processes, allowing us to work more effectively and make better decisions.
To the point where, more often than not, individuals are unaware that AI is at work to improve
their experiences.
In popular culture, examples of artificial intelligence usually feature a horde of intelligent
robots bent on destroying humanity, or at the very least a fancy theme park.
Sentient machines with general artificial intelligence do not yet exist, and are unlikely
to exist in the near future, so we're okay... for the time being.
That is not to dismiss AI's possible impact on our future.
According to a 2021 Pew Research survey, 37 percent of respondents are more concerned
than enthused about AI, citing issues such as job loss, privacy, and AI's potential to
"surpass human skills."
Furthermore, Elon Musk, a long-time proponent of AI regulation, has declared AI to be more
dangerous than nuclear weapons.
Despite these valid worries, we are still a long way from living in Westworld.
AI is all around us, whether we recognize it or not, and it is actively involved in
our daily lives.
AI is lurking in the background every time we open our Facebook newsfeed, do a Google
search, get a product recommendation from Amazon, or book a trip online.
Industry executives are still divided on what the term "robot" means.
Roboticists define robots as programmable machines that do tasks, but no one knows where
that definition stops.
Today's AI-powered robots, or at least those believed to be such, lack natural general
intelligence, although they can solve problems and "think" in a limited capacity.
Examples of AI in robotics range from working on assembly lines at Tesla to teaching Japanese
students English.
iRobot is arguably best known for creating Roomba, the popular smart, robotic vacuum
that utilizes artificial intelligence to scan room sizes, identify obstructions, and memorize
the most efficient cleaning routes.
The self-deploying Roomba can also determine how much vacuuming is required based on the
size of the area, and it does not require human intervention to clean floors.
Hanson Robotics creates humanoid robots equipped with artificial intelligence for both commercial
and consumer industries.
Sophia, built by Hanson, is an extremely advanced social-learning robot.
Sophia can converse well with natural language and use facial expressions to portray human-like
emotions thanks to AI.
Sophia has become a media sensation, appearing on a variety of talk shows, including a famous
appearance on The Tonight Show with a very perplexed Jimmy Fallon.
The robot has even accepted Saudi Arabian citizenship.
Artificial intelligence is also proven to be a game changer in healthcare, enhancing
almost every facet of the sector from robot-assisted surgeries to protecting private records from
cyber hackers.
Healthcare has long been plagued by spiraling medical expenditures and inefficient systems.
The despised business is getting a much-needed overhaul thanks to artificial intelligence.
AI-enabled virtual assistants are reducing unnecessary hospital visits and giving nurses
20% more time; workflow assistants are assisting doctors in freeing up 17% of their schedules;
pharmaceutical companies are researching lifesaving medicines in a fraction of the time and cost
it previously took; and AI is even being used to help bring healthcare to underdeveloped
nations.
Covera Health, for example, is using collaborative data sharing and applied clinical analysis
to reduce the number of misdiagnosed patients worldwide.
The company's patented technology employs a framework that combines advanced data science
and AI to sort through existing diagnostics in order to offer practitioners with more
accurate symptom data while making a life-changing decision for a patient.
But, if AI is so useful to humanity, why are so many people afraid of it?
Man has long been afraid of the rise of the machine, of his own invention becoming smarter
and more intelligent than him.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming our world and propelling
the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has long cautioned about the perils of AI-powered robots, even
forecasting "scary outcomes" akin to "The Terminator."
Now he appears to be taking matters into his own hands before humanity is completely destroyed.
Elon Musk is not known for being a technology pessimist.
He's established a reputation for himself by arguing that the future can arrive faster,
from electric automobiles to Mars colonies.
When it comes to artificial intelligence, though, he sounds quite different.
In a 2014 speech at MIT, he referred to AI as humanity's "biggest existential threat"
and compared it to "summoning the demon."
In 2017, he stated at a National Governors Association gathering that “the scariest
problem" is artificial intelligence — an invention that could pose an unappreciated
"fundamental existential risk for human civilization."
For years, Musk seems to be conscious of the dangers of artificial intelligence.
He told MIT students as early as 2014 that "I'm increasingly inclined to think that there
should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just
to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish.”
As a result, it appears that Musk will be extremely cautious in how his companies implement
AI and how strictly they adhere to restrictions.
Not precisely.
Musk is a major participant in AI, thanks in part to his car company.
Tesla, according to Elon Musk, is the world's largest robotics company.
"Our cars are semi-sentient robots on wheels," he stated last year at the company's "AI day"
He also announced plans to develop a prototype robot in 2022 at the ceremony.
According to him, the robot is meant to be friendly and to avoid "dangerous, repetitive,
and boring tasks."
He said he'd make the robot slow enough to run away from, and weak enough to overpower.
Tesla has not only pushed AI-powered autopilot systems beyond what regulators like the National
Transportation Safety Board say is prudent over the years, but has also failed to "implement
critical NTSB safety recommendations," for over four years, according to an October 2021
letter from Jennifer Homendy, the agency chair.
In addition, as Fortune reported in February, Musk's brain-chip business, Neuralink, may
have misled federal regulators about his involvement.
Musk claims that Neuralink chips will aid humans in achieving a "symbiosis with artificial
intelligence."
Musk's desire to comply with securities standards raises larger concerns about how Neuralink
might comply with regulations for brain-computer interfaces, which experts think are desperately
needed.
"It serves Musk's interests to position himself and his companies as best able to address
an elevated imagining of the risks around AI," said Emanuel Moss, a postdoctoral scholar
at Cornell Tech and the Data & Society Research Institute.
According to Moss, Musk believes his firms are among the "few who are capable of addressing
the risks of AI in a technically astute or robust way."
Musk, on the other hand, "wants to sell a shiny box that solves the problems.
He thinks there are technical solutions to what are in fact social problems."
So, is there anything to be concerned about?
It actually depends on whether you want an AI takeover or not.
Both Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have already stated that we should take precautionary steps
since AI might "spell the end of the human race," as Hawking told the BBC in an interview
before his passing.
In a new documentary, Elon Musk says that artificial intelligence might lead to the
development of a robot tyrant who could govern humanity forever.
"If one company or small group of people manages to develop god-like superintelligence, they
could take over the world," Musk says in the video.
He went on: "At least when there's an evil dictator, that human is going to die.
But for an AI, there will be no death – it would live forever.
And then you would have an immortal dictator from which we could never escape."
He's basically suggesting that governments or other groups may create a deadly AI that
could outlast human leaders and never be destroyed - and that democratizing AI is one method
to avert this.
The documentary Do You Trust This Computer?
provides a sobering look at the possible threats of AI, including what can happen if AI learns
to be smarter than humans and becomes its own master.
"We are rapidly heading towards digital superintelligence that far exceeds any human," Musk stated.
"I think it's very obvious."
He continued: "We have five years.
I think digital superintelligence will happen in my lifetime, 100%."
The issue with super intelligent AI is that if it becomes smarter than humans, we may
lose control of the technology.
According to the documentary, if the AI has a purpose, it may strive to achieve it in
a way that humans do not agree with, but there is no way to stop it.
"AI doesn't have to be evil to destroy humanity – if AI has a goal and humanity just happens
in the way, it will destroy humanity as a matter of course without even thinking about
it, no hard feelings," Musk said.
“It's just like if we're building a road and an anthill happens to be in the way, we
don't hate ants, we're just building a road, and so goodbye anthill."
Musk's statement parallels his prior dire warnings about the dangers of AI.
Musk tweeted in early September that "competition for AI superiority at a national level" would
almost certainly be the cause of World War III, and he has stated that AI is the biggest
threat to humanity.
Musk, though, is not alone in raising the alarm.
AI researchers at Oxford and UC Berkeley, as well as many of the researchers who have
published significant results, concur with Musk that AI might be extremely harmful.
They are concerned that we are aggressively striving toward the deployment of powerful
AI systems, and that we may do it under unsafe conditions.
What should we do if we take these issues seriously?
People concerned about AI risk take vastly different approaches, but they all agree on
one point: more research is needed.
Do you concur with Musk?
Is AI helpful to us, or should we keep it in check??
Tell us in the comments section below.