Recently ‘Machine Intelligence’ has become so powerful that I am now convinced that it is no longer science fiction but something that will change our lives very soon. There are several options for the development of events, and some of them are not so bad.
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The best scenario
In the utopian world of the future, the day begins with a virtual assistant opening the blinds. He will tell you about the weather and the latest news. Then you sit at the table, where you will find a plate of fresh fruits collected by robots. After breakfast, you will go to the wardrobe and put on a weather-matched clothes.
At the bottom there will be a car with an autopilot, which will take you to the football match to his son. You no longer have to go to work. Now you can devote your life to things you did not have time for before.
After the match, you take the child to a cafe and talk about how his day went. At night, while the robot-assistant puts his son to bed, you finish a picture of wine with a glass of wine, which was abandoned many years ago.
In fact, such technologies require us to always be on our guard, otherwise we risk losing control over our work, freedom and relations.
If we take it seriously, the fairy-tale version of our future will not be far from the truth. In the field of AI great achievements have been made, which can make our life easier. The question is not whether our artificial life will improve our life, but how it will do it.
More free time
AI can take small routine duties on itself. Watson Assistant from IBM is an excellent example. While he answers customer questions, employees focus on more important things. And this is only the beginning.
Companies are introducing new technologies that can identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees, and then distribute responsibilities depending on their qualities.
Artificial intelligence can help not only in the office, but also out of work. For example, you no longer have to spend a weekend on a shopping trip, because the faithful assistant himself will order the products at home. You do not need to sit behind the wheel and get nervous, because you can do other things while you are going home.
By releasing time for more important things, you reduce the stress and stress level, and therefore raise the level of happiness.
Of course, this medal has a downside. What will you do with free time? At work, you can focus on challenging tasks, but outside the office, having free time does not guarantee happiness.
I'm sure that more time to watch TV shows will not make your life better. In an unmanned car, we will be attacked by advertising, we will become lazy and self-satisfied. Can a person use his spare time with benefit?
Freedom from work
The potential of AI is really huge. He can solve fundamental problems, such as world hunger and constant wars. Robots could plant, irrigate and collect food, and farmers, using the knowledge and power of artificial intelligence, would bring out better cultures.
What do you think if in 20 years the AI will run for president? Robots could extend our lives by identifying cancer at an early stage, or using genetic engineering to heal us of all diseases.
This is the main problem. AI does not just give more free time, it completely replaces us. People have always had a fear of technology that can take their work from them. The industrial revolution deprived many workers of their earnings, and journalists in the era of the Internet gave way to bloggers.
However, a person quickly gets used to everything new. Our nature has the ability to adapt. The same will happen with the development of artificial intelligence.
Some argue that AI will help create more jobs and even become a new stage in the evolution of man.
If we can solve the problem of money, then we will rethink our attitude to work. Let the cars take our places - this is not the end of the world, we just adjust to the situation. In addition, if robots create things for us, the cost of handicrafts and the demand for them will increase. Things handmade even now much more.
A Utopian Future
Imagine that we have succeeded: we no longer need work, life has improved, everyone is happy. What will we be doing? How will we communicate with each other? How to prevent robots from revolt? We need to always think about the distant future, not just about the immediate prospects.
We do not know what it will be like, and certainly we do not know how to make all people happy. The only thing we can do is continue to ask questions and try to answer them.
