Should I Fear Artificial Intelligence Or Embrace It?

Artificial Intelligence is not just learning patterns from data, but understanding human emotions and its evolution from its depth and not just fulfilling the surface level human requirements, but sensitivity towards human pain, happiness, mistakes, sufferings and well-being of the society are the parts of the evolving new AI systems.  ― Amit Ray

A lot of people are scared about artificial intelligence, but it’s time to embrace it. AI is here for our safety and convenience, not just to take over the world. We should start thinking of ways that we can help AI so that they don’t become too powerful or intelligent on their own. The best way for us humans to keep up with the advancements in artificial intelligence is by educating ourselves and understanding how this new technology works.

The debate over artificial intelligence has been going on for a long time, and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon. One side of the argument says that AI will bring about an era of unprecedented technological advances and economic prosperity. The other side of the argument says that we should fear this new technology and keep it under control before it gets too powerful.

But what if there is no “right” answer? What if both sides are correct in their way? I’ll explore these questions in my blog post, Should I Fear Artificial Intelligence Or Embrace It?

First of all, let’s look at what AI is and how it works: Artificial intelligence is the study and design of intelligent agents. Such “agents” can be anything from robots to models made with neural net software, and they attempt to mimic human or animal intelligence. Thus we say that artificial intelligence is an attempt to create machines capable of thought or sentience. More specifically, there are two types of artificial intelligence: symbolic systems and statistical systems. In symbolic AI, the agent has access only to the information that its programming gives it. In statistical AI, on the other hand, an algorithm learns by observing data in much the same way as humans know from experience. Neural nets fall under this category.

As you can see, the line between artificial intelligence and statistics isn’t that clear. There are fair arguments to be made on both sides, but I’m going to choose a side anyway: artificial intelligence is not the same as statistics. If we look at most AI examples in history (with notable exceptions like IBM’s Watson), they use symbolic reasoning and deduction. Statistical algorithms, such as neural nets and deep learning, don’t qualify as AI because they can’t make decisions; they only learn what works best for them. So while there is undoubtedly machine learning involved with statistical systems, it’s the wrong kind of machine learning

Now let’s take a look at what AI can do for us: First off, AI will allow humans to accomplish more than ever before. That means we may achieve more than ever before, but it also means we will become even busier. If you think the modern workforce is too engaged now, wait until robots and AI takes away most of our jobs. A world without work would be an exciting place: if we don’t have to work, we can focus on things that really interest us and not just on making money—but who will pay for all this? Taxes will likely go up considerably due to lost working hours and wages, so in the end, the difference might not be that big.

It’s also possible that advancements in AI in other industries could increase productivity in related fields outside computers or manufacturing. For example, artificial intelligence could help doctors diagnose patients more quickly and accurately or help companies find new resources or market their products better. In the long run, this might offset higher taxes and lost wages even if it doesn’t completely balance out.

The other significant benefit of AI is that humans won’t have to perform dangerous tasks anymore. Whether you’re a construction worker or a soldier, many jobs can be deadly if done incorrectly—and sometimes even if they’re done correctly. But with robots performing these types of work, our chances of being injured on the job will dramatically decrease. This will save lives, so it’s hard to argue against this point even though it may seem counterintuitive at first glance. Of course, machines can get hurt too during these tasks, but this is unavoidable. If we don’t make them more resilient to the types of things they might experience on the job, then there’s a chance that they will become less economical—and if they’re not economical, then AI wouldn’t be much good for us anyway.

So why should I fear AI? It would certainly help people save lives while doing tasks that humans can’t or shouldn’t do. So why fear it at all? Well, it could become harder to find jobs; some skilled workers may lose their jobs; it could result in higher taxes, and the machines themselves could get hurt (and injure us). These are pretty legitimate reasons to worry about artificial intelligence if you ask me. That said, one needs to keep in mind that we could create a world with an abundance of resources and no real jobs for people to do if we wanted to—but would that be any fun?

In the end, there are lots of pros and cons regarding artificial intelligence. There’s probably more good than bad, but still  bad enough to warrant some thinking about how it could affect society.

Artificial intelligence is not something to fear. It can be used for good or bad purposes, but in the end it will shape how we think and interact with each other.