The first thought I had when the Supermarket Robots section came on was, "Why are we trusting these machines to do and have access to all of this information. These robots, or really artificial intelligence as a whole are presented with information, that unlike you or me, they never forget. That's a more long-term issue. The short-term issue, the issue that seems, at least in my mind to be rapidly approaching is automation. The scariest issue in terms of artificial intelligence in the here and now is the risk of millions of Americans and people around the world losing their jobs because a one-time purchase robot can do it for free. While this is quite good for those who can afford to pay for artificial labor, it can potentially be devastating for those who used to perform the labor.
Another scary issue affecting us at this very moment is the way our data is being sold, stolen, and used. At this very moment, there is a good chance that you, whoever is reading this, has had your data taken and used even just five seconds ago. With artificial intelligence everything we put on the internet can be sold to someone else for a price, all to be put into an algorithm to figure out exactly who we are, what we like, and who we are planning on voting for. Our data is being used by artificial intelligence to deliver advertisements, political solicitations, or even just reinforce our worldview. The danger here is we do not know who is trying to influence us. We don't know who is trying to send us down the rabbit hole. It's not a coincidence we see advertisements for something we just looked up, or even something we just were talking about.
Our data though is not just being used by businesses and corporations though. The state has an interest in using artificial intelligence against us. It's already happening in more authoritarian states like China where China's citizens are being monitored using facial recognition and other forms of AI almost everywhere they go. They are not just being monitored, but given a "social credit" score. This is based on how "trustworthy" the Chinese Communist Party perceives them to be. With the higher social credit comes greater social privileges and whatnot, but do we really have to worry about that in the West? While we do not have to worry about our governments using AI at this level to control us yet, our governments still do use artificial surveillance to spy on us. These forms of monitoring are used by more authoritarian governments to quash dissent. Could our own governments deploy similar measures on us on the basis of "National Security"?
The answer is of course yes, if we let them. If we let the government shut down our lives and livelihoods over a novel virus then of course we'll let them monitor us; to keep us safe of course. Most of this has been focusing on the bad. Artificial intelligence is scary, even dangerous, however, it has the potential when used correctly to create some really amazing things. For example, having artificial intelligence run tests and research could lead the way to new medical breakthroughs. It's already on the
verge of revolutionizing surgical care. The same goes for science and scientific breakthroughs. Artificial intelligence can be a tool for extreme good. It has the power to be one of our greatest tools if we choose not to abuse it. (All images found on this page were generated by me using artificial intelligence technology).
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