The Controversy Over The Future Of Artificial Intelligence

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The future is full of unknowns. The entire science-fiction genre is devoted to proposing distant dreams in the worlds of science and technology, and humanity in the present is left to make these dreams into realities. Artificial intelligence is one example of a dream that is coming to fruition. Artificial intelligence refers to a machine that is “programmed to exhibit intelligence similar to that of human beings” (Artificial Intelligence 1). Some believe a machine of this sort would be beneficial, while others disagree. The debate over the future of artificial intelligence will be prevalent in coming years, and there are two clear sides to the issue. Whether machines will ever become superintelligent and drastically change humanity is widely …show more content…

First, those opposing artificial intelligence believe that the human brain is too complex to recreate. Science journalist John Horgan points out that "humans do not know how a brain creates a conscious mind" (Koh 1). Without a brain or some supplement, there is currently no way to replicate consciousness as humans have it, which would be essential for a free-thinking, superintelligent AI. Another reason critics oppose artificial intelligence is because they believe that superintelligent AI will make much of humanity obsolete. In 2013, an Oxford Martin School study concluded that nearly 47% of U.S. jobs are in danger of being lost to automation (Koh 2). Without jobs to work, humans may seem obsolete in the minds of these superintelligent machines, and more ill can come to humanity. One more reason some oppose artificial intelligence is because they feel that a superintelligent AI might be outright harmful to humans. Scientist and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking predicted that a superintelligent AI would be so much more advanced than humans that it "could spell the end of the human race" (Ford 4). An AI of this caliber must be convinced or programmed to be friendly toward humans, because if it is truly superintelligent, it would be able to evaluate the circumstances and make choices based on its beliefs, so humans must fall in line with its values. The picture critics paint of the future of artificial intelligence is abysmal but very far into the

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