Selden B1 - AI and its Impact on the Future

Incorporating all of the assigned topics, artificial intelligence (AI) utilizes networks of databases to collect knowledge and, ideally, better human kind.

Databases/Networks

The "learning" aspect of AI is brought about by applying algorithms to large sets of data in order to properly analyze and understand it. Think of is this way, when you are searching for a new pair of shoes online, then you start getting shoe ads on facebook; or the ability of technology to recognize specific faces in pictures. Data is being gathered from previous photos, searches, etc. and being applied to perform a task. This ability to learn is what brings about the biggest concern among the tech community, which brings us into the next topic.

Sociology

Technology already plays a prominent role in our lives, but the idea of having it learn and evolve itself further and faster than humans is troubling to some - like Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. The ethical implications have been called into question as well, from taking jobs from humans, to their use as potential weapons. "AI safety" is already being addressed, and has been accepted as a priority for many of the most prominent companies in the expansion of these technologies [2]. Either way, AI has already had an impact on our day to day lives, and will only likely increasingly do so as time goes on.

Future

Will we all be driven around by autonomous cars? Will we be served by human like robots at restaurants? Until the time comes it may be hard to tell (although that first one is already happening). One comment I found sheds new light on the idea "improve the education systems[...]in order to get people prepared for this new world" [3]. I think further education on the subject, how it operates, and its potential to progress, and at what rate, will help us fear less, and put the proper regulations in place to prevent the accidental creation of the Terminator.

Comments

Christopher - It was interesting to read about how much of an impact drones could have on the construction industry. The closest any of my jobs got to that was flying around to take pictures of the project progress. I wouldn't have thought that they would have the strength or intelligence to actually do any of the building. Although I do agree with you that this technology won't be common on job sites anytime soon.

Drew - I like that you touched on the topic of emerging ethics concerns with AI. At first thought, yes it doesn't seem like any sort of threat, but should it be manipulated and get into the wrong hands, it could become disastrous (as you also noted). I'd liked to have read more about the problems you mention in your middle section though, and how programs reCAPTCHA work towards solving them.

Ronaldo - I enjoyed reading about the computer potentials you outlined in your post - and I do agree, it's a little freaky. It also ties into the ethics that I and others mention in their posts. If your brain is connected to a computer/network/etc. what's keeping someone from hacking into it? And how do you prevent something like that from happening? But thankfully yes, it is hopefully a long way off.

[1] https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/07/29/whats-difference-artificial-intelligence-machine-learning-deep-learning-ai/

[2]https://www.wired.com/2015/01/ai-arrived-really-worries-worlds-brightest-minds/

[3]https://www.wired.com/2014/12/eric-schmidt-ai/

[4]http://scitechdaily.com/data-science-machine-replaces-human-intuition-with-algorithms/