A.I. - is this the greatest threat to humanity?

[uhuh uhuh]

Is AI Humanity's biggest threat?
I work in technology and am continually amazed by the leaps forward we see daily. Right now the latest iPhone I have in my pocket is more powerful than my first computer - a home built 286 that I loaded with XTree Pro and DOS

Ray Kurzweil the director of engineering at Google, refers to the point in time when machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence as "the singularity," which he predicts could come as early as 2045.

I have heard 2025, 2032 and 2090. It may be longer.

Either way I believe my career will probably not last past 2025. Right now my iPhone has a predictive text that is uncannily good at picking the word i need to use next.


Stephen Hawking has warned about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. Hawking, working with with well-known physicists Max Tegmark and Frank Wilczek of MIT, and computer scientist Stuart Russell of the University of California, Berkeley all believe that the creation of AI will be "the biggest event in human history."

And possibly the last.
Elon Musk The CEO of the spaceflight company SpaceX and the electric car company Tesla Motors has also said that artificial intelligence is "our biggest existential threat." humanity needs to be "very careful" with AI, and he called for national and international oversight of the field.

At the same time Musk is working with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and actor Ashton Kutcher build an artificial brain. (Probably because Ashton needs one)



But other experts disagree that AI will spell doom for humanity.

Charlie Ortiz from AI Development company Nuance stated recently "I don't see any reason to think that as machines become more intelligent … which is not going to happen tomorrow — they would want to destroy us or do harm,"

So where are we heading - is this worthy of a thread?

 

[Baloo]

286 ? Young'un.... I still have some 8" floppies at home.

I'm still not sure what AI means. Is it the ability to reason ? The ability to make moral judgements ? Is it the sense of self ?

At the end of the day we can also switch off the power, I hope.

 

[TigerForce]

Difference is the technology has a switch on button whereas we don't. It still uses a battery as its heart which has to still be re-energised whereas we don't.

No-one and nothing will take over us humans. Nothing. We are the power! ;D

 

[Pomsta]

Totally depends if what gets put into the cows causes some kind of genetic abomination that kills all decent meat eating people

 

[spook]

AI won't spell the end of humanity, just the next phase in our evolution. We will begin to augment ourselves with technology (we already have, in fact), and this will become more and more prevalent. Nanobots will perform continual maintenance inside our bodies; our sight, hearing, memory, physical capabilities, will all be enhanced.

The biggest danger is the religious nutters of all colours, who will try to blow up people they see as playing God. That, and a potentially massive discrepancy between the haves and have-nots, technologically speaking.

 

[KnightersRevenge]

Like many I wonder what AI really is? I am more scared of the "grey-goo" when self assembling "nanobots" forget to stop self assmbling.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Let's just look after the planet. That's what I see as our biggest threat.
If we can come up with an intelligent robot that can do that I'm all for it because humanity is doing a pretty good job of screwing it up.

 

[Baloo]

Let's just look after the planet. That's what I see as our biggest threat.
If we can come up with an intelligent robot that can do that I'm all for it because humanity is doing a pretty good job of screwing it up.

Lets call the robot Wall-E

 

[KnightersRevenge]

True dat ToO. We have these rotating bots that turn wind into power but people are scared of them.

 

[billyb#40]

AI won't spell the end of humanity, just the next phase in our evolution. We will begin to augment ourselves with technology (we already have, in fact), and this will become more and more prevalent. Nanobots will perform continual maintenance inside our bodies; our sight, hearing, memory, physical capabilities, will all be enhanced.

The biggest danger is the religious nutters of all colours, who will try to blow up people they see as playing God. That, and a potentially massive discrepancy between the haves and have-nots, technologically speaking.

The more labour saving devices, robots, computers, whatever, the less people will be required
Which would cause less pollution, improve the environment and its a win win for the ultra wealthy few that will survive and thrive under these conditions.
Just a bit of a bugger for the rest of us and our descendants

 

[spook]

The more labour saving devices, robots, computers, whatever, the less people will be required
Which would cause less pollution, improve the environment and its a win win for the ultra wealthy few that will survive and thrive under these conditions.
Just a bit of a bugger for the rest of us and our descendants

We'll find something else to do; we always have. Computers aren't the only ones getting smarter - we are too.

 

[K3]

True dat ToO. We have these rotating bots that turn wind into power but people are scared of them.

Not so much scared as... well... they are just so darn ugly!

 

[mld]

We'll find something else to do; we always have. Computers aren't the only ones getting smarter - we are too.

Not convinced that we are getting smarter tbh.

 

[IanG]

A podcast I listen to is called Common Sense hosted by Dan Carlin. he recently did 1 juxtaposing 2 threats to humanity: ebola and AI. Its a great listen.

 

[spook]

Not convinced that we are getting smarter tbh.

We are. We're also getting taller and better-looking. In a few generations' time a bloke like me will considered average. ;D

 

[Willo]

We are. We're also getting taller and better-looking. In a few generations' time a bloke like me will considered average. ;D

We got there quicker than you thought. You are.
Me on the other hand, being of the older generation...standout ;D

 

[Rosy]

Like many I wonder what AI really is?...

When I read the thread heading I thought it was about Artificial Insemination. Haha go the country bumpkin.