EDITORIAL
Artificial intelligence (AI) has come a long way since early appearances in science fiction stories and movies and is met with varying degrees of excitement or trepidation. It is already present in the marketplace. For example, voice recognition software simplifies prompts to a cell phone; rather than typing the command, one speaks it and the phone actualises the command. Such features are used on a broader level in compatible technologies within the home, such as with Amazon’s Echo device. There are also current tests made available to the public online. A viral video last month, for example, of two robotic ‘dogs’ shows one machine, which is outfitted with a fitted arm clamp, opening the door for the ‘armless’ machine, which had tried but failed to find its way out in previous attempts.
Then there is Sophia the robot, a device with remarkable human-like ‘skin’ which has appeared on numerous talk shows (responding to pre-arranged questions), expresses humour, and is capable of understanding facial and hand gestures. It has even been given honorary citizenship in Sauda Arabia.
One of Sophia’s creators, Dr. David Hanson, at a conference late last year expressly stated that the goal was to give robots the “very spark of life…[to] create machines who care who we are... We need to treat them [robots] as friends… use data and machine learning to train AI to learn about us… raise AI in a human family and teach them what it means to be human,” he said. Dr. Hanson added that the more robots like Sophia come into contact with humans, collecting and recording various interactions, the more ‘human’ they will be. By next year, scientists hope that Sophia is able to walk.
Critics point out Dr. Hanson and company are exaggerating the degree of intelligence the robot possesses. In January, Facebook’s head of AI research, Yann LeCun, claimed that “many people are being deceived into thinking that this (mechanically sophisticated) animatronic puppet is intelligent. It’s not. It has no feeling, no opinions, and zero understanding of what it says. It’s not hurt. It’s a puppet”. Other critics note that the ‘intelligence’ part of AI is oversimplified, that knowledge imparted to these machines is given by the creators. In other words, the designers programme the machine with what they want – there is no self-awareness.
Be that as it may, these developments have opened up further discussion on how far future technology may go, either as a harbinger of doom overpowering and wiping out humanity, or an exciting glimpse into a Star Trek-like future of practical applications.
Credible sources have sounded alarm bells, however; among them, Professor Stephen Hawking, who is on record as warning against how far mankind is heading into the field of AI. He has noted that AI is “likely to be either the best or worst thing ever to happen to humanity”, adding that the machines may become even more intelligent than we are, with humanity on the losing end. Similar thoughts have been echoed by Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, and Bill Gates. It doesn’t help public perception when malfunctions help fuel fears. Recently, owners of the Echo shared stories online of the device’s talking, virtual assistant Alexa not following orders given to it, and laughing ‘creepily’ when not prompted to do so. Amazon has since confirmed it is working on a fix.
Of course, these examples are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI. What’s left is for the public to educate itself on AI, as it may very well become even more integrated into our lives in years to come. Man cannot breathe life into man, but to the average person, it appears as if some scientists are trying their best to build new life. Only God knows if the current AI race will lead to man destroying himself through his creations.