Peter Donnelly asks: “Why rage against machines when we could be friends?” (Comment) and provides a generally upbeat assessment of the benefits they can provide mankind.
Unfortunately, he neglects to mention the way the technology can be exploited to the detriment of individuals and communities.
We(???) gave a similar upbeat prediction of the benefits information technology could provide when it first appeared some decades ago and, indeed, continue to do so. Much of this is justified – information technology has transformed our capabilities and in doing so has been of huge benefit to mankind in many domains. But some of that capability has been exploited by our dark side, ranging from pornography to criminal activities, fraud, trolling and hacking, taking in controversial surveillance and threats to privacy.
Much of the current discussion in information technology communities is devoted to ways of fighting the dark side and organisations increasingly deploy more of their resources to fighting off or repairing the damage from the “bad guys”.
I suspect the real danger from AI is not from the machines taking over, but from the way our dark side exploits the technology in ways that have largely negative outcomes for mankind. The sooner we learn from our neglect of these threats in the early decades of information technology, the sooner we can learn how to protect ourselves when in the new age of AI.
Frank Land
Totnes, Devon
I think AI is already a problem. Humans are even starting to mimic primitive AI – see the constant repetition of the phrases “strong and stable” and “coalition of chaos”.
You may think I’m shoehorning politics into a tech issue, and I am, but I’m horrified that news outlets are not ridiculing these phrases more. I think we’ve already become accustomed to dealing with AI on the phone and robotic responses in our dealings with the minions in corporations and institutions who refuse to deviate from a script.
I think the war is already lost, in that we tolerate being treated like this. For example, the other day, a barista said to me that it was awesome that I offered him the extra change so that he could give me a note back. It’s a ridiculous script and we are subject to this nonsense daily.
franklin100
posted online
Automation is not in and of itself a negative thing. It depends on the choices made by institutions and, by extension, us. It could, for example, lead to a blossoming of self-management that simply was not possible prior to automation, leading to more creative meaningful work. Or it could cement the ongoing process of atomising labour still further, rendering workers ever more expendable.
Garry Lee Williams
Holywell, Flintshire
AI will drive innovation and efficiency and can be harnessed to address the greatest problems in society – improving the standard of living of the poorest 25% globally in a sustainable way.
AI, because it is efficient and scalable, can and will deliver massive gains in standards of living for the poorest, but what we need is some vision from the left about how to do this and harness AI/robotics, rather than the current left whinge about either Terminator-style dystopia or taxing robots.
Paul Jenkinson
Kingston-Upon-Thames
