The discussion around artificial intelligence is almost as complex as the technology is. There is no getting around the fact that AI is playing a huge part in modern society and will play an even bigger part in our shared future. There are several definitions and the risks associated with artificial intelligence are still hard to foresee. A basic artificial intelligence program can have a very different risk compared with a program that is self-aware. However, the benefit artificial programs will have on our future can outweigh the risk associated. This article will argue and discuss the current and future impact of artificial intelligence, weighing the pros and cons in the current debate of AI. And discuss the policy measures that should be brought forward to prevent the risks AI can have on our future.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are seeing a rapid adoption in our daily lives. These technologies have the potential of completely changing the way we live our lives in the future. Based on what experts are saying, the advancements of AI will make most people’s lives better off the next decades, however many people have concerns about how the advancements will affect what it means to be human and exercising free will. Likewise, it is critical to set up the right policy measures that will protect humans and mitigate the current risks associated with the advancements of AI.
Experts in technology, innovation, development, business and policy leaders have discussed the pros and cons related to the topic of AI advancements. They predicted that artificial intelligence would boost human effectiveness but will also threaten our autonomy, economy and potential. They theorized that computers will soon exceed human intelligence on topics like decision-making, reasoning and learning, language translation and pattern recognition. Smart systems like we see in vehicles, our homes, hospitals, schools and communities will save money, time and lives and offer more opportunities for people to live safer and easier lives. Especially looking at healthcare and using AI to diagnose and treating patients or helping seniors live healthier lives. Also using massive amounts of data to build broad public health programs and changing the way our education system works. On the other hand, experts also expressed concerns about the long term impact these tools can have on our basic idea of being human.
Concerns relating to AI
There are many concerns relating to the advancements of AI. Individuals are slowly losing control over their freedom of decision-making and a general loss of control over their lives. People do not learn to understand how the “black box” tools work, and generally sacrifice independence and privacy and cede control to automated systems as they get more complex and widespread. Furthermore, data abuse is another concern, as most artificial intelligence tools will be in the hands of for-profit companies and power-hungry governments. With many of the tools being parts of global networks it will be hard for each government to control and regulate the impact. In addition, these tools are not based on values and ethics, so AI making decisions for us will be a difficult dilemma to solve. Job loss will also be a huge part of the future of AI. With more automation and AI takeover in formal workplaces we will see even more economic divides that will most likely lead to social upheaval. Almost every part of the workforce will in some ways be affected, and while experts believe that new jobs will emerge, the massive amounts of job losses might lead to more populist uprisings in politics.
Let us look at the largest concern experts have about the future of AI; the use of AI reducing individuals’ control over their lives. AI system have the potential of eliminating the need for human involvement in many tasks. Assistant tools like Alexa and Google Assistant are not yet close to being human-like artificial intelligences, however they do have the potential to be. Thanks to development in machine learning, language processing and hardware capabilities, they will at some point become highly complex systems. Code-based system have for a long time been used for repetitive tasks such as factory-floor assembly machines. Today, these systems are quickly mastering human traits like reason, logic and learning, examples being Googles search engine and Facebook social mapping can handle extremely complex tasks. In addition, AI systems are heavily used in large aspects of our society like the global financial market, businesses, militaries, and medical, energy and industrial operations.
A likely fact is that humans won’t be more autonomous in an AI future, quite on the opposite we will likely be more automated. We will not choose our own breakfast, morning routines, or the direction we take to work. Algorithms will choose how our daily lives will look like and make choices to maximizes efficiency and profit. While that does not sound so bad, the fundamental problem is that this will lead to less freedom and a loss of control over our lives. The largest investments in AI we see now is in advertising and marketing designed to steal our attention and money and is in many ways leading to a less fulfilled life. We need to ask ourselves what really makes us happy and how to fulfil our lives and focus AI technology beyond profit maximization. Furthermore, like any technology before it, AI technology will be used by those in power to control, manipulate and to gain more power. It very much depends on how this technology will be governed. If we have a bottom-up type of governance where the citizens are well informed, then we will see that AI will be used to improve the quality of life. If “the system” gets to decide and tell the citizens what is “best for them”, we will see a considerable loss of autonomy and freedom over aspects of our lives. Social pressure and control that’s possible with AI technology will rapidly take away our individual freedoms both publicly and privately.
AI: A Double-Edged Sword
While there have been breakthrough examples of AI technology surpassing human abilities in Chess, Go and in translation, the technology has also been a standard part of the industrial world since the 1980s, after these systems were created for checking circuit boards and detecting credit card fraud. Machine learning has also been used to create algorithms for computational problems like scheduling, web searching and neural networks for both modelling human learning and basic industrial control. Searching for photos, videos, audio and raw text, reading lips and emotions, even forging videos with Deep Fake technology is even possible with today. Artificial technology has already come a far way. There’s substantial evidence that the 2016 US election and UK referendum vote were both altered by the AI detection and targeting of swing voters via social media usage. AI is entering the physical world through robotics in the form of drones, weapons and autonomous vehicles, and even in our homes with “smart speakers” and gaming consoles. With human intelligence becoming more redundant with each year, what measures should be done to mitigate the risks of an AI future.
AI technology raises issues that go to the heart of fundamental human rights questions like privacy and freedom of expression. These issues heighten the responsibility of the tech companies that create these products. It needs thoughtful government regulation and the development of norms around acceptable uses. Specifically, in a democracy the decision-making needs to be going to our elected officials with public safety in mind as it is core to our freedoms. Nonetheless, AI technology is an incredible force of both economic growth and individual empowerment. We are able to learn, improve, and do things that wasn’t even conceivable 50 years ago. However, the concerns of inequality and job loss, privacy and autonomy, and lastly corporate autonomy and liability needs to be addressed for the good of our future.
It is in everyone’s interest to avoid a destabilized society if that means social uprisings or even war. Social inequality has been steadily rising in most OECD countries for the last decades, and AI technology does not necessarily change this trend. If history has shown us anything, its that high inequality and high polarization are very correlated. Everyone benefits from sufficient stability. Now that we live in a world with transnational corporations and organizations, some with substantial powers across borders, and it is in their economic interest to have a stable world. The World Wars and financial crises were hugely destructive of every aspect of society, including the super-rich who had the most to lose. The Western countries today are fabulously rich and can afford to support the people as they retrain in a world that’s becoming more automated every day.
Humans are extremely adaptable and capable of finding new avenues of employment and were already seeing this change through online employment in entertainment and producing services such as on YouTube and online teaching. In the end, how much the next generation can economically sustain from this future is a matter of economic policy. This requires distribution of employment opportunities and wealth, and huge infrastructure investments to create the jobs of the future. Although the world is more connected than ever, most of our lives are spent at the local level. What happens locally has a huge impact on our well-being so giving opportunities on the locally will have huge impacts for the future generations.
Governing the Future
Technology also brings issues of privacy and individual autonomy. The age of privacy is in many ways over, as we have more information and the means to understand the information about us. To protect citizens' information from being manipulated, stolen and controlled there needs to be serious encryption – without a backdoor. Our data should not just be an asset of the person but as part of the person. This means that the data cannot be owned by anyone other than ourselves. Luckily, many governments have made it a part of their job to defend their citizens’ data. The best entities to defend our data is the government, but for that to happen major international treaties need to be made, as most of the data manipulation happens internationally. Sadly, not all governments have their citizens’ interests at heart. China has used their massive surveillance system to destroy the lives of over a million Chinese Muslims by sending them to re-education camps. Also in the West we have examples of the US trying to jail whistle-blowers like Edward Snowden for leaking facts about the US military atrocities. Citizens need to hold their governments responsible for using their data against its citizens. Laws, both nationally and internationally, needs to protect the people against data manipulation and control. AI has the capacity to be used for good governance and stronger societies, however it is important to recognize how dangerous it can be when used by governments looking to control their citizens.
Lastly, the issue of human accountability and responsibility for using AI technology must be mentioned. Software systems have the same liability issues as anything made by a human – if they are misused, it is the owner’s fault. It might be impossible for governments to maintain regulation of AI because the rapid rate that AI technology entails. Sensible policy might mean having a separate group of experts working through professional organizations to create a sensible set of standards and norms. That means that governments will have the job of monitoring the effects of these standards of AI governance. This means that we might not have to change legislation to keep up. Rather, hold organizations and citizens that build or exploit AI accountable and responsible for the consequences for their systems’ actions.
Even if we like it or not, AI technology has already changed many aspects of our society and will continue to play a bigger part in the future. Our future will depend on how responsibly we meet the changes. Overall, there are many pros of AI technology that I have discussed in this article, however the risks of misusing this technology can be extremely severe if we are not careful. It will require radical innovation in the ways we govern, especially when looking at the points I have discussed. If we can responsibly govern AI technology, the sky might be the limit.
Bibliography
Anderson, Janna & Rainie, Lee. (10th December 2018), Artificial Intelligence and the future of humans, retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/12/10/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-humans/
J. Bryson, Joanna, (2019), The Past Decade and Future of AI’s Impact on Society, article from the book Towards a new enlightenment? A Transcendent Decade, retrieved from https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/the-past-decade-and-future-of-ais-impact-on-society/
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