Beware! The Machines are Coming
AI: The biggest threat to mankind?
Robotics, as
we remember was a fascinating subject, with robots helping in daily tasks. With
the world going ‘automatic’, we deployed robots for warehouse jobs, launching
aircrafts and other dangerous tasks. But progress never stops and our machines
too are getting smarter. With Apple’s Siri and Google’s driverless cars, we can
completely rely on them. The research started long back and today we have Saya
robot simulating human expressions of surprise, fear,
disgust, anger, happiness and sadness. Japan- producing a slew
of humanoids- these bots seem a boon as they assist to take care of the
elderly, people with special needs, friendly- some more affable than humans!
Well, all’s fine till here, but what
when robots start thinking?
Artificial intelligence- all the while
humans have been trying to ease their tasks with mechanical assistance. And
today we are so dependent on our Android apps to tell us the weather
forecast, Google maps to drive us to our destination, Skype to get connected,
smart gadgets to regulate blood pressure and diabetes, apps to remind us of our flight
timing, important assignments etc.
But what if these assistants wish to
out-do humans? Our Sci-fi films like Terminator Series, Robot and Ra-one have
already given us a glimpse.
‘Watch Out! The machines are coming!’-
Headlines have already started hitting the news space, like a first-hand
indication. It reminisces of those ‘2012-‘ doomsday types film extracts- fingers
crossed. Recently it was announced that a computer beat a human in the
2500 year old game ‘Go’-a wickedly complex game that supposedly has more
possible moves than there are atoms in the universe! (1070 – for those who know their Math!)
Now this is something crazy. The alarm bells are ringing, it is time to limit
giving power to the robots. Just imagine these sci-fi dreadful movie scenarios
coming to reality and you are left to save the world! It’s good food for
thrilling sci-fi entertainers, but of course no one wishes that to become a
reality!
The biggest
scientists of the world are getting worried about AI. “I think we should be
very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess what our biggest
existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful. 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 foolish”, said Elon Musk, CEO, Space X, Tesla.
After all,
it’s rightly said, “Technology should be a tool and not a master!”
Reference: Times
NIE edition
