Are computers gonna take the world over?
Stephen Hawking says yes!
And I say, "Who cares, I'll be dead by then!"
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and if you're excited by all the new advancements AI has
made in the past few decades - you're not alone.
We've got smartphones that tell us where to go, self-driving cars that get us there with
no effort, and computers that can teach other computers how to play Pac-man.
Yes, it is an exciting time we live in.
And the person you'd think would be most excited - would be Stephen Hawking, a man who understands
more about the universe we live in, than most of us can even conceptualize with our tiny,
plebeian brains.
But, Stephen Hawking not excited.
In fact, he's the opposite of excited.
In an article he penned for the Independent last week, he warns about the dangers of artificial
intelligence - calling it "potentially our worst mistake in history."
He begins the article by acknowledging the potential benefits of AI - like eradicating
war, disease, and poverty.
But he also says that there are things we simply can't predict.
And unless we learn how to avoid the potential risks, we could be signing our own death sentence.
Things we should be concerned about in the short term, he says, is AI that allows us
to effectively capitalize on our own greed.
Autonomous-weapon systems that can choose and eliminate targets with ease.
Economical changes, that disrupt our way of life, creating great wealth - and even greater
wealth disparity.
But these are things that can potentially be avoided.
The scariest part, is what comes after.
Hawking cites Irving Good, one of the great mathematicians of the 20th century, who pioneered
the concept of "technological singularity" - a hypothetical moment in time when AI finally
surpasses human intelligence, radically changing civilization as we know it.
It might seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but according to Hawking - there are
no physical laws that prevent such a thing from happening.
People aren't concerned about it now, because we still have control over AI - but in a post-singularity
world, the biggest question becomes - can we control it at all?
If computers become smarter than humans, then there's no fundamental limit to what they
can do.
"Outsmarting financial markets, out-inventing human researchers, out-manipulating human
leaders, and developing weapons we cannot even understand" - are just a few of the examples
Hawking cites.
With that in mind, he says - we should all be asking ourselves - "what we can do now,
to improve the chances of reaping the benefits and avoiding the risks."
What do you guys think?
Is the potential destruction of all mankind REALLY worth having an iPhone app that can
fart on command?
Leave YOUR thoughts in the comments below - and hey - if you're a Sourcefed fan and
you happen to live on the west coast, tickets just went on sale for the DeFranco Does LA
show on May 9th in Glendale, CA.
This is a live show starring Philly D and some of your favorite SourceFed regulars,
so if you wanna grab tickets - just hit up the bit.ly link in the description of this
episode.
Otherwise, happy farting!