According to the lecture, scientists in the Western parts of the world believe technology is around 70 years out from Artificial Intelligence or AI superseding the capabilities of humans, while in Asia scientists believe our society to only be 30 years away. Both of these possible realities are likely to happen within my lifetime if I live a long and healthy life, and I cannot help but be frightened by this. To think that robots or some form of AI will be able to operate more efficiently than a human is absolutely mind-boggling to me. In this blog post, I aim to examine the ethicality of allowing technology to possibly reach this unprecedented level of success.
As a child, I looked at all new and advanced technology as only a positive for society and for myself. I could not imagine wanting a video game to run slower, desiring for a hockey stick being heavier, or wanting to pick up all the leaves in my front yard by hand instead of using a rake. However, the older I have become, the warier I grow about new technology, especially if has the possibility to be dangerous. While a rake may never become deadly enough to be considered a danger to society, there are some forms of technology that have come along in the past century that have been detrimental to society. Nuclear Bombs, for example, have been used by the United States against Japan and have caused a tremendous amount of damage and fear. Not only did they take lives in Japan, but they were the main reason for the Cold War and continue to be a reason for international conflict because of how hostile they are. Another example of a destructive technology is social media. Although harmless in the sense that social media itself cannot cause direct harm, social media apps have come to dominate the lives of young people often interfering with proper face-to-face communication. They may be a good idea in thought, as they aimed to keep people more connected, but they have robbed many of their privacy and have hurt a lot of people because of it. When it comes to the idea of AI superseding the capabilities of man, I become incredibly worried about what adverse effects that could have on our society as a whole. Although many tasks could become more efficient due to AI as somethings already have, I am worried that they could potentially take away the autonomy we currently have over our society. In a way, it would be like spending countless hours, money, and resources across the world only to be constructing what could turn out to be the downfall of our society. At the same time though, I realize that progress is difficult to stop and that there are many positives that result from a more powerful AI. Yet, thinking back to the atomic bomb and other harmful technology, I bet there are a lot of people, perhaps even a majority that wish the incredibly dangerous technology was never created.