Last evening at dinner, there was an animated discussion about artificial intelligence (Ai1); about how effective it was at some tasks, but how it often made mistakes. Ai is a technology that is, in my view, extremely immature, but is being exploited at an alarming rate. I have no doubt about the potential for Ai in the future, but it is not yet ready for prime time.
So what lies ahead for Ai? The potential for Ai benefiting humanity is unlimited, but the issue is not what is possible, rather how it will be used. While there are some applications of Ai that are of benefit to society, what I observe mostly today is the fervent application of Ai in cost cutting (e.g., job elimination) and surveillance (e.g., face and other pattern recognition). The War Department is also passionately attempting to apply Ai to tactics and strategy development, as well as automated decision making. None of these applications bode well for society.
I have often said, there is no invention of the human mind, intended for the good of mankind, that has not been used for evil. Knowing the potential for Ai and that the motives of those in power are primarily the acquisition of greater wealth and greater power, that thought frightens me.
1 I write Ai instead of the usual AI because, in my view, Ai is highly artificial, but not very intelligent.