Society as we know it is bound to be in for some big changes in the near future. For all we know, they may already be occurring.
For some inexplicable reason, the brilliant minds of mankind, and their ability to expand technology, has always outstripped the capacity of the “General populace” to cope with the social ramifications of the new technologies. Most of us are able to use them, but we do not fully comprehend “what makes things tick” This had lead us into the trap of thinking WE control technology instead of vice versa. I have a chilling hunch that this will come back to be a nightmare for us at some point in the future. Science fiction authors already have imagined it.
Suppose there comes a day when there is a computer program which is sufficiently advanced that it can replicate itself, or worse yet which “guards” itself from being changed or manipulated by humans. Suppose there are robotics which are sufficiently advanced that super “brains” can be programmed into them. Then suppose they “decide” at some point they don’t require biological organisms anymore. Crazy science fiction? Perhaps. I personally think there needs to be a lot more research into the ethics of “artificial intelligence” We need to think a lot more about what we are doing in this area before we do it.
In the Jetsons cartoon, the Jetson family had “Rosie” the robot maid to do their bidding. I would hate for that role to be reversed. I know it sounds crazy, but the basis for an AI society is already in place. Since such intelligence would have no emotions or emotional attachment to their human creators, whose to say what would happen. My Father in law was one of the very first people to do AI research in the 60’s, and he was very leery of its roll in human society.
Technology is great, but what price will we eventually be paying for it if we do not use OUR brains now to look several moves ahead on the chessboard towards an end game. Are we intelligent enough even now to stop ourselves from being steamrolled?
I’m a good chess player, but the computer beats me every time when it’s set on “normal” The smartest Jeapordy champions of all time were annihilated by a computer brain. We all sit back and post on Facebook, and we then get some sleep. Computers never sleep, they run 24-7. Computer programs are created to solve problems. I for one hope they don’t solve the problem of how to take care of themselves without needing humans.
Thanks Matt Bowers for getting my brain going on this. It’s definitely a conundrum.
Writing for Sanity's Sake 