The widespread arrival of generative artificial intelligence has caused concern in many circles. A recent US government-funded study warned of “uncontrollable” consequences of AI. There are catastrophic concerns about AI-based cyberattacks and the potential loss of jobs as AI replaces jobs.
But the catastrophe is only one interpretation of AI.
According to experts paid to predict the future, the arrival of AI is more likely than not to offer a road map out of humanity’s worst impulses and create a better, more equitable world. This is the rosy scenario depicted in a recent survey conducted by Tata Consultancy Services, which measured the opinions of 21 futurists from around the world on AI.
“We are now at a moment where science and technology can enable human progress in ways we haven’t seen in a long time,” said Frank Diana, managing partner and senior futurist at Tata. “We are in a situation we have not been in since the second industrial revolution,” he said, predicting that the widespread arrival of AI will herald innovation in transportation, energy, medicine and communication.
This view is a far cry from that of some prominent technology leaders who have darkly warned that AI will surpass human intelligence within a few years. In Silicon Valley itself, there is a big divide between the techno-optimists and the apocalypses.
Diana says doomsday scenarios distract from and undermine the potential of technology.
“I think, honestly, the conversation around conscious robots and artificial superintelligence is getting in the way,” Diana said. “If AI is managed correctly, we will instead be talking about all the great things it can do for humanity.”
He said the often negative view of AI in today’s popular imagination has its roots in the 1970s, when Hollywood turned to more disturbing themes that matched the country’s mood. But before that, he says, technology was seen as something that could one day give rise to utopia.
Author and futurist Bernard Marr, who was not involved in the Tata investigation, echoed a more optimistic thought.
“I see all the incredible benefits that AI can bring and I see it every day. I believe AI is the most powerful technology humans have ever had access to,” said Marr, a power that , he says, can be used to eliminate health inequalities and challenges. , education and climate change.
“We’re a long way from being sentient, if AI ever becomes sentient. But AI is very, very good at doing things that only humans could do in the past,” Marr said. “The mundane is a waste of our power as humans. AI will allow us to focus on the incredible power that makes us human,” he added.
He sees the role of AI evolving to become a constant co-pilot rather than lying awake at night worrying about robots taking over the planet.
“AI will dramatically improve relationships between doctors and patients,” Marr said, describing how the insurance and regulatory red tape that currently burdens doctors will be taken care of by AI, freeing up the practitioner to go through more time with patients. “I don’t see AI as something scary; not all systems developed work against humans but make us better.”
Given the power of AI, regulations, laws and safeguards are needed to prevent abuse.
“But you are already starting to see this happening,” Marr said, referring to recent EU legislation.
So why this widespread fear? When people talk about sentient AI, they usually immediately turn to what’s worrying. However, sentient can also be benevolent or value-neutral, but that’s not what AI people usually think of.
The reason people fear AI lies in our very humanity, said Kelsey Latimer, a Florida-based clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders. She said humans are hardwired to prepare for the worst.
“From an evolutionary perspective, we are primed to see things that are negative and scary so that we can see predators coming toward us and react,” Latimer said. If we consider something unfavorable and it turns out to be positive, there is no harm. If we view something as positive but it turns out to be negative, we often need to prepare ourselves for the consequences.
Futurists like Diana and Marr predict that the consequences of AI will be positive.
“With the use of AI, the passion and creativity that we can demonstrate as humans will begin to shine through,” Diana said.
cnbc
