AI – are we looking at the future, or should I say immediate future? Part 2

Oct 12, 2018 3:20:14 PM

What makes AI, AI?

An AI system that is not adapting and not learning as it is created is not an AI system. Fact.

A true AI system can learn in milliseconds compared to months of a normal computer that ‘sorts’ what it is given. You may all be familiar with the Microsoft bot that started to produce offensive phrases!

Adaptive becomes unpredictable.

Systems are very good at finding patterns, but not so much at solving problems. Creativity is a difficult, very human, concept to build into a system. Something that humans hold as their own, for the time being anyway. An AGI (Artificial general intelligence), is a system that can simulate and conduct multiple activities, not just data pattern referencing.

Super intelligence … this is a whole different ball game, and I agree with those who claim it will be the last invention humans will ever create. Nobody knows what will happen when that day comes or where humans will have a place anymore.

Just so you know, super intelligence keeps scientists awake at night. It is both excitement and dread at whether humans will go too far. Perhaps, we are living a computer simulation created by another universe and our fates are storylines implemented by others. You laugh, but this is a theory some scientists believe on and are trying to prove.

Can I trust an AI with my life?

The next stage from a computer figuring out a business model for you, is to implement AI into everyday life. We have all heard of driverless cars and self-automated machinery, but can we build ethics into AI? Build systems that have emotions embedded into its systems?

But who makes the decisions on what is suitable? Does it fall to just one person to decide what ethics the system should possess? At some point regulations will come in and want to dictate what is appropriate.

An example that was used at the data event included a car, a baby and a million dollars. I probably do not need to explain much more but briefly, who decides if a driverless car should save a woman and her child or a robber holder a million pounds?

"Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat” Steve Jobs

If you do not build systems that will adapt to the world and trends, you will lose to your competitors. Fact.

For an AI driven business you will need the talent to support this, which means attracting the right people! Three things will motivate people within your company, including new professionals to join:

  • Autonomy
  • Mastery
  • Purpose

If the brand you attract is sexy as hell, (to put it bluntly), you will be able to give a professional the challenges they need to thrive and the pride of who they work for.

Organisations will need to completely reinvent themselves to accept machine learning into the company. Now, the information gap between AI and human contribution in a company needs to close dramatically.

Hint: Book recommendation – The Four by Scott Galloway

How far is AI going to challenge our societies?

I was incredibly shocked to learn that the Black Mirror Episode ‘Nosedive’, might not stay as just a TV episode. In China right now, today, citizens are given a social score. The programme will be fully operational by 2020 but is being tested already on millions of people – it is completely mandatory.

The vast ranking system will monitor the behaviour of the population and give them a ‘social credit’ score. Just the same as private credit scores, a person’s social score can move up or down depending on their behaviour, reputation and actions. The exact methodology is (unsurprisingly) a secret, but infractions can include bad driving, smoking in non-smoking zones and buying too many video games. A bad social score can affect the quality of hotels you can stay in, getting on flights and can even affect a child’s school choices.

Could it go to the extent of us rating people around us? Looking at their internet footprint and grading them based on the interaction we have with them. Incredibly false don’t you think? Humans would no longer be themselves, in fear of being judged badly.

Large corporations will be the ones to determine the social score, making us work harder and comprise on our values.

Are we already on the way there? Isn’t a CV a clumsy version of a social scoring?

Where will the world be in 2048 and will humans have a new competitor?

The pace at which AI is catching up with us is increasing rapidly. It was stated in 2016 that a machine would beat a human at golf in 13 years – it has already happened. Numerous analysts predict that within 10 years, we will see a boost in jobs for the creation of an AI system to take tasks away from humans. Are we talking small tasks such as filing documents? Or a doctor is replaced in heart surgery by a robot?

Unfortunately, the only way to find out what will happen is to create it, but once it has happened we cannot undo it. We must live with whatever the consequences may be.

What do you think?

Share your thoughts on this post - whether you agree, disagree or have your own insight to share, we want to hear from you!

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