Artificial Intelligence – Who Said What

Stephen Hawking’s recent remarks have struck up new conversations about the fears of AI. What are other scientists saying about the future?

We’ve all thought about it before. What if a robot could make our breakfast in the morning, walk the dog, drive us to work, and then clean the house while we’re away? And what if we could even interact with this robot and have a casual conversation with it, just as we’d talk to a colleague?  Recent advancements in technology tell us this may not seem so far-fetched.
Although a robot doing all of our mundane tasks may seem harmless, scientists are starting to wonder what this revolution will do to mankind.
Stephen Hawking, an internationally famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist, stated his worries about the future.
He told the BBC: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”
Hawking has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS (commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease). This disease has limited and ultimately halted Hawking’s ability to speak, but in no way has it constrained his intellectual capacity.  Recently, Hawking teamed up with Intel to design an all new communications platform that works similar to predictive text on a cell phone. This breakthrough technology has helped Hawking to be able to speak more effectively, but also sparked new concerns for the future.
Hawking fears that AI will eventually take over and wipe out the human race. Is this a valid concern?
Eh, who knows. I thought it would be interesting to see what other people are saying about the future rather than just focusing on one scientist’s theory. I went to the one place where everyone is a “highly acclaimed” scientist. I went to the internet.
“…We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.”  -Elon Musk
Elon Musk is founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Although many criticized Musk’s extreme remarks, it is worth noting how disastrous AI could be if it got in the wrong hands.
“By far the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.” -Eliezer Yudkowsky
Eliezer Yudkowsky is co-founder of the nonprofit Machine Intelligence Research Institute. He is well known for his extensive research on AI. His remarks explain the importance of mastering AI before trying to use it in our daily lives. Yudkowsky has said that AI is far more complicated than most scientists realize.
“The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.” -Edsger Dijkstra
Edsger Dijkstra is a Dutch computer scientist who won the Turing Award in 1972 for his fundamental contributions to developing programming languages. He is known for his intricate proofs and algorithms, yet he rarely used a computer.
“I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.” -HAL from “2001: A Space Odyssey”
A direct quote from the robot itself. It makes you wonder what today’s robots would be like…
Pop culture has completely changed the way many people look at AI. Movies such as “I, Robot” (no, I’m not telling you to go watch this one), “2001: A Space Odyssey” (you’ve seen this one, right?), and the newly released movie “Her”, are all focused on AI and the effects it could have on us as a society. I also noticed AI in the new movie “Interstellar.” Isn’t it interesting how we develop a relationship with these AI characters? Is it possible that we could actually become attached to robots?
Stephen Hawking’s remarks may concern us, but we hope that Artificial Intelligence will be contained and used for our benefit. Who knows, maybe they’ll even become our friends.
Get started as an expert by publishing all of your own “highly acclaimed” research with vps.net, and join the artificial intelligence debate.