Issues with Artificial Intelligence

AI, or artificial intelligence as it is more commonly known, is the replication of the processes of human intelligence with the help of machines and highly computerized systems, such as systems for machine vision, voice recognition, natural language processing, pattern recognition, machine learning, and so forth. The term was first used by an American computer scientist in 1956. Learning, which entails acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills for the system's efficient operation, is the first of these three processes and can be used to explain them in general terms. The reasoning is used to derive accurate conclusions about the situation in hand which is followed by the correction of any flaws in the system to avoid facing a similar situation in the future.

Since its birth, artificial intelligence has gained a lot of popularity, especially in automation of robots and other related fields where there is need of high processing speed of large amounts of data in minimum time. Artificial intelligence can be further divided in two main distinguished branches. Weak artificial intelligence or more commonly known as narrow artificial intelligence is programmed to a specific task, for example, Apple's Siri. Strong artificial intelligence, or more commonly known as artificial general intelligence, is programmed not only to perform a particular task but any unfamiliar task that is thrown at their faces out of the blue. This is possible because of the installation of generalized human cognitive abilities, thus, being capable enough to devise a solution for any task at hand. A widely known example of strong artificial intelligence is the Turing Test which was created by Alan Turing in 1950. The whole aim behind its creation was to see whether computerized machines are capable of functioning like humans.

Issues with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence might be making the management of tasks much easier, accurate, and manageable, but according to various experts, it is coming at the cost, which might not be visible to the common man. Primarily, the manual labor is the one which is directly affected by the emergence of automation and robotics. Over the course of time, technological advances have made a huge impact on the contemporary age and have replaced the low-skilled manual labor. Since industries have become mechanized, roles of labors have changed because more educated and qualified people are now hired to operate the machines, thus, reducing the need for manual labor (Bossman).

There is increased demand for cognitive labor that is capable of employing modern strategic and administrative tools and techniques in the trending world of globalization. An excellent example for this would be the emergence of self-driven trucks. Trucking has been one of the most common jobs in the United States that has employed millions of unemployed, low-skilled people. Companies like Telsa are becoming increasingly popular and are replacing these truck drivers with more qualified labor who are present in the test-drives to control the car in case of any technical difficulties. Since the truck drivers do not have the acquired knowledge to command and control these computerized systems, their demands are beginning to decline. Yes, these self-driven trucks will reduce the probability of road hazards and accidents, but it will be at the cost of these drivers' daily income. The same situation applies to industries and multi-national corporations.

The increased emergence of these machines is leading to more inequality in the economy. Since our economic system runs on the principles of redistribution of revenue, whatever is earned by the machines cannot be distributed because no one knows who rightfully deserves that money. When artificial intelligence is introduced in a company, a company has the authority to conveniently reduce its dependence on the manual labor. Thus, fewer revenues will be directed towards the workforce and more in the accounts of the company. This is causing the excessive widening of the wealth gap between the employees and the employer. Same amount of revenues is being created by companies who are labor intensive and who are machine-intensive, for example, the Silicon Valley (Ramchurn 90).

One highly intimidating aspect of robots is that they have the ability to not only model human conversations and behaviors, but do them much better than people themselves. This was best portrayed by a robot called Eugene Goostman which bagged the first place in the Turing Challenge where it managed to fool the majority of human raters making them believe that all this time they had been interacting with a human being, whereas in reality, it was a robot. Robots or automated machines are readily seen in customer service and sales department, thus, proving that most of the times humans are in conversation with machines and they are not even aware of that. Even though all humans are not limited to giving attention and kindness towards other human beings, robots have the ability to pretend to be more empathetic by virtually channeling unlimited computerized energy into creating more strong and cordial relationships. Technology addiction in the form of video and mobile games is the perfect example of the way machines can control our minds and be responsible for human dependency. Hence, it is necessary to make sure that such highly influential technology does not fall into the wrong hands (Bostrom 320).

Despite being supported with a high-tech system, machines can also be fooled during their training sessions. It is not their scope to devise solutions to all existing problems, and slight alterations in their dot pattern can cause them to produce flawed results. These machines need to be monitored all the time to ensure that they are going according to their guidelines and are not being hacked by competitors to overpower them for selfish gains.

Furthermore, it has been noticed that artificial intelligence, like Google and Alphabet, have been racist against black people. When using Google's photo service, cameras are used to automatically detecting black people as being involved in criminal activities. Even though they are famous and recommended for their high speed and excessive capacity to handle and process large amounts of data, robots are proving to be as racist as human beings. Reason behind that is that these machines are designed by human beings, so they are bound to be biased and judgmental against other race, religion, and gender. As mentioned previously, artificial intelligence can emerge as an integral catalyst in bringing a positive change only if it is in the hands of the right people (Smit 15).

The introduction of artificial intelligence in the form of self-driven cars might mean that the probability of road accidents and hazards will reduce, but we are overlooking the fact that humans are losing a locus of control of their lives. When riding in an autonomous car, it is in the hands of the machine to stop the car according to the commands fed into it. The human being cannot just take control and stop according to their will power, thus, showing that we are slowly functioning under the commands of automated machines, instead of our desires. Moreover, if by some chance the automated car does end up in an accident and leads to an unjustified death, then who will the court cross-question? The car? Or the person sitting in the car who had no involvement in driving it? It is impossible to cross-question an algorithm, thus, raising questions about the reliability of artificial intelligence (Krigsman).

To make their services more focused and efficient, organizations are collecting data on their spies without their permission, thus, making it an invasion of their privacy and illegal in all aspects, for example, the case of the pregnant teenage girl. Artificial Intelligence can be misused in a lot of senses. Moreover, it is becoming easier for people to copy handwriting, voice, as well various other physical features, thus, making it easier for people to impersonate influential personalities and lead to blackmailing and fraud. If proper security measures are not implemented, then this technology is bound to have more of a detrimental impact than being beneficial for people (Dickson).

Conclusion

Despite being extremely beneficial in data processing, configuration, and management, artificial intelligence has its own and very obvious drawbacks. Increasing popularity of artificial intelligence and its significant impact on the society has caused scholars and researchers to work more in researching about this growing field from the perspective of law, as well as economics. Numerous researchers have raised this question that what if strong artificial intelligence replaces human minds regarding all cognitive tasks in the future. The introduction of new technologies like the superintelligence might end up being the solution to all existing problems and improve conditions worldwide, however, if the system manages to undergo recursive self-improvement, it can indirectly, as well as directly, overtake the human minds and their lives. Moreover, we need to encourage our society to become educated enough to understand basic technology at least so that they can deal with intrusions like the indirect surveillance done through social media content. These machines might appear to be superficial to the common man, but they are transforming into complex and life-like creatures who are unconsciously replacing the need of human beings. If extensive research is continued to be conducted in this field, then it might aid us in preparing for any artificial intelligence related to risks and devise precautionary measures beforehand so that the impact of any potentially negative consequences of artificial intelligence are minimized or preferably eradicated while taking advantage of these technological advances. Technological advances like artificial intelligence carry the excessive amount of potential, and it is in the hands of human beings to invest in them and, thus, implement them more efficiently and effectively.

Works Cited

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