The A.I Revolution
The age of the machine is upon us and looking at James Camerons' rendition of the Terminator it's not looking good for the human race. Soon we will be slaves to our A.I overlords and be relinquished of our lives once there is no need for us. This is what I would call catastrophising. It is certainly a possibility but so is getting hit by lightning 10 times over, doesn't mean it is likely to happen. Our world is going to change in an unprecedented way but the question remains, what will this A.I revolution involve?
What is Artificial Intelligence?
So what is this artificial intelligence or more commonly known as A.I? Well I wasn't quite sure of the definite answer myself. So I did the only logical thing and asked an A.I. Its first answer was rather long winded so I asked it to simplify the answer so us simpletons could understand:
Artificial intelligence (AI) involves the development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. - Chat GPT
To expand on this it involves teaching computers to perform tasks on their own sometimes through the deployment of trial and error. In the same way a baby learns to walk through continuous trial and error until it can eventually walk on its own.
Development of A.I
We hear talk of A.I every day, even hourly, yet no one really understands on how they are developed. So here is my attempt at summarising quite a complex task. First the problem that the A.I needs to solve is clearly outlined by the development team. Data is then collected to train the A.I on, usually in the millions. The A.I is then put through rigorous training on this data and then adjusted on an evolutionary template, once the model reaches the desired accuracy it then moves on to the next round of training and the process repeats until the full model has been developed at which time it is released to the world.
Revolution
A.I even in its current state is compared to having the intelligence of Einstein who is arguably one of the smartest humans in history. A.I is already at the height of human intelligence and capability it can out-perform and work faster and more efficiently than most humans on the planet. Here's the kicker, Chat GPT 4, the next edition of A.I Software, is 10 times more powerful than its predecessor, making it outright the smartest intelligence on the planet. Meaning it can outperform you in almost every aspect of intelligence. It can work faster, more efficiently and with more knowledge than anyone. Now hopefully you can see where the dangers may lie. This new software will continue to grow and expand exponentially and we are only at the very start of the A.I curve.
Many high-profile tech experts have called for a halt on A.I development. Elon Musk, Mo Gawadt (ex-Google chief business officer) and many more have spoken out on the dangers of A.I. If we don't put controls on it now by the time we do, it may very well be too late.
However, it is worth noting that the biggest danger when it comes to A.I isn't some Terminator fantasy where the machines take over but rather how humans will use the A.I. The intelligence of these softwares will be far beyond human comprehension. It can be used for great things, to solve unsolvable problems, to solve international conflicts and advance our research capabilities. However, it can also be used by on lonely kid in his parents basement to hack into the U.S nuclear arsenal or by certain warmongers, who I won't mention due to not wanting to be poisoned by Novichok for speaking out against the state, to bring down the West.
A.I. is a fascinating piece of software that can be used to help us work more efficiently and solve problems. Chat GPT is being deployed in many code terminals to help programmers with complex code, helping them develop better products for us. A.I can help us gain insights into our everyday questions, can help us refine an essay or even spell-check a blog. We need to understand it and learn how to use it to our benefit otherwise we might get left behind in the dust, whilst everyone else excels.