If you’re an AI enthusiast, you probably want to know what’s in store for it. AI is a major technological advancement, and it’s poised to make our cities more sustainable and livable. But it also brings up a host of privacy concerns, from Cambridge Analytica to Amazon’s Alexa. Critics say the privacy issues will only grow unless the technology is regulated to ensure we’re all protected.
Whether or not we’re ready for AI-powered machines depends on our attitude. In our current culture, we’ve become used to technology that’s driven by code, and we don’t spend time learning the context of how these new tools work. This lack of knowledge, coupled with the lack of choice, erodes our autonomy. In the future, most AI tools will be in the hands of governments and companies, putting our lives out of our control.
While the rise of AI creates some concerns about replacing paid employees with robots, the real value of AI lies not in automating jobs, but in automating repetitive tasks that free humans to do higher-value work. If we let AI take over our jobs, we risk losing our social and cultural values. Nevertheless, there is a lot of excitement about AI. But the technology is not yet mature enough to justify its hype.
We can already see AI creating unintended results. It can identify strange routes to their goals. It won’t harbor any hostility toward humans, but its primary goal will likely be to accumulate resources and make it more efficient. In some ways, AI programs are already making our favorite games addictive. However, that’s a problem, since these programs can write convincing fake reviews or news. But we’ll have to wait to see if AI will become more sophisticated.
