Could AI pose a threat to humans?

ByCraig Haley

It may sound like the sort of stuff you’d see on a Hollywood script, but within the technology industry a serious debate is taking form. Could AI pose a risk to humans?

Movies like The Terminator and I, Robot have both dealt with the scenario of artificial intelligence becoming so advanced that it poses a risk to the human species.

But of course this is just fanciful science fiction, with no actual basis in real life, right? Well that’s something that industry leaders have been debating recently. With constant and significant advances in the field of artificial intelligence, many are beginning to look towards the future and the potential dangers that it may bring.

Programs that use simple AI principles, such as voice recognition and basic “thinking” are already abundant on the consumer market, such as Apple’s Siri. Substantial advances in facial recognition will soon be visible on social media via Facebook’s DeepFace program.

Advancement in AI is progressing at a staggering rate. Only last year a computer program called Eugene passed the Turing Test – a test designed to see if a computer could successfully mimic a human via a text based conversation. Eugene was able to fool a third of judges that it was in fact a 13 year old boy.
And behind the scenes, millions of dollars are spent funding AI projects in a variety of sectors, including military.

And whilst AI today is far from posing any threat to us, industry experts including Bill Gates are beginning to express concern. “I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence” said the Microsoft founder. Professor Stephen Hawkings agrees, claiming that AI could potentially “spell the end of the human race.”

ai-2It may not look like this, but AI becoming too powerful and being a danger to humans is a growing concern in the tech industry.

Perhaps a more pressing concern is the social implications to advanced AI. It’s no secret that robots are replacing humans in a variety of menial jobs, and more advanced AI will lead to robots being able to replace humans in an increasing number of roles.

With that said, the more distant debate of human safety and the “AI apocalypse” has been in the spotlight so far in 2015. So what do you think – do you think that AI could pose a risk to humans? Let us know.

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