The Rise of Artificial Intelligence

Risk Group Founder, Jayshree Pandya Ph.D, discusses ” The Rise of Artificial Intelligence” with Fritz Venter, Founder and CEO of Computed Future on Risk Roundup.   Introduction As we, the humans aim for broader capabilities beyond our intelligence, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will undoubtedly create complex security challenges that will likely be beyond our capabilities to manage. While companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Baidu have got into an AI arms race already, it is important to identify, understand and evaluate the strategic security risks, we the humans will face in the coming years due to AI. The use of AI is not new. From cars to phones, to thermostats, emails and games like checkers and chess have been using basic “Artificial Narrow Intelligence” (ANI) system for a long time. More advanced ANI systems have also been widely used in sectors and industries like military, manufacturing, finance and so on. The complex security challenges will hit us when the Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) reaches Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and then Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). While, we the humans are yet to create Artificial General Intelligence, the mere thought of the possibility of Artificial Super Intelligence is causing an alarm across nations. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Artificial Intelligence is a very broad topic. Since AI is a broad concept, we need to understand the different forms and critical categories that needs to be considered to understand the complex challenges around us better in CGS. While the world is currently running on ANI, it is important to evaluate if any of the ANI systems cause malfunctions or how safe are they? The applications of AI ranges from phone’s calculator to self-driving cars to something in the future that might change the world dramatically. There are some who believe that in less than 50 years (our life time) machines will be able to do, if not any work that humans can do, then a very significant portion of the work that humans can do. I am not sure how we the humans should feel about that. Growing Concerns Nations are @ risk. The potential of AI is becoming a cause of concern across nations: its government, industries, organizations and academia (NGIOA). * Would the top species on earth will no longer be humans, but machines? * Would the human race will have become cyborgs [part human, part tech or machine) by the end of this century? How would that world look like? * Would machines surpass human intellect? * Would machines improve their own designs in ways unforeseen by their designers, and thus strengthen themselves into far greater intelligences? * Are humans on the path to a breakdown? It is important that we identify, evaluate and understand the consequences of intelligence explosion for we, the humans in general, and also for our industries and nations. Human Capabilities and Potential It is said by many that the human capacity for information processing is limited. In spite of that there is an accelerating change in the development and deployment of new technology. This overload on the human mind – and its inability to cope – will than need to be solved by the use of ever more sophisticated information intelligence. The question is: * Whether this is the right approach and what will be the implications. * Who will be accountable if the intelligent machines violate international law? * What is the limit of the human’s control in the case of an instantaneous attack? The development and the adoption of AI systems seems to be impossible to control by any NGIOA due to the enormous advantage that the paradigm could bring to every industry.