Starlog #7: “I would gladly risk feeling bad at times, if it also meant that I could taste my dessert.” -Data
Where do you see Artificial Intelligence going? Will it be Data, The Doctor or something new? Do we need to fear it, embrace it or something in between?
Jumping out of the realm of Star Trek into the realm of video games; I find most answers or possibilities there. A very good example of where I think AI is going and might actually work in the near future is robotics. The game I’d like to mention is “Detroit: Become Human”.
The title kind of says it all and without giving away any detailed spoilers, it is set in a world where robots are used to fill in for humans in a serving role. They are housekeepers (taking out the trash, doing the laundry, going shopping, picking up goods), police (directing traffic, assisting with road accidents, warning citizens to behave and follow rules), service drivers (public transport, cabs), replacing people in repetitive jobs (factories, assembly, food processing,…), firemen, emergency support, being caretakers of those who cannot walk or help themselves.
And those two last sentences is where I believe it could work and maybe not.
AI to help out people is what we use and see every day “Hey Google, Hey Alexa!”. I love automation, I love my Google Hub and anything connected to it like alarms, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, tumble dryer, lights, TV and so much more. It helps us out enormously. What if we had robots that could help the weaker population? What is we could have robots fend for the lonely, the sick, the troubled? I like that idea.
But. When I said in the game it replaces people, that is where it might go wrong. In the game there is both a revolt of humans complaining about robots taking their jobs, unemployment is high. On the other hand the AI robots try to find their place in society and some become “rogue” trying to be heard and wanting to be more human and have the same rights.
Just like Data. I LOVE Data. In the video it is mentioned that AI makes us more human and that is why I’m drawn to the character of Data. His search of being human makes us all aware of what makes us human.
On the other hand, would you trust an AI doctor doing surgery on you? Would you trust an AI army? Would you trust a machine with algorithms to wake your child up when it stops breathing in its sleep? Wait we already do that.
I think a certain part of the population is ready for AI and be guided by it and wanting to see where it goes and a large part being utterly afraid of being controlled by the government and hating tech or evolution.
I’d say keep working on the AI. It is fascinating!
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This marks the end of Week 4 and a promotion to Lieutenant Junior ^_^
