AI is a topic that sends panic through the bodies of many people. They flash back to the Hollywood films such as "The Terminator" and see the end of humanity on the horizon. This is further fueled by people such as Elon Musk who steps up and warns of the seemingly inevitable danger of AI.
As an aside, while I am a big fan of Musk and what he is doing, I ask you to consider his warnings when he is head of one of the leading automotive companies that is developing AI for cars. Another point to consider, right after his warnings, he started a company to work on brain-to-computer interfaces, one that raised billions. Be mindful of this when consider what Musk says since he has a bit of marketer in him.
If we can most past the fear, there is a wonderful opportunity for AI to help every individual on the planet. We can all become enhanced simply by having a personal AI assistant. This is one of the most exciting aspects of the next decade. Within 10 years, all of us can have a virtual assistant that handles many tasks for us. To take this one step further, it can also provide feedback becoming our own personal "coach". Consider it self improvement on steroids.
The problem we have at the moment is the leaders in this field are the ones who are set on creating, at least in part, the dystopian society so many fear. Companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple are all working getting their devices into the lives of people and create a database of everything they do. This is not a future that I am intent on being a part of.
So how can this unfold in a different manner?
Fortunately, there are a number of projects that are already in the works that will do exactly what I am describing but in a manner that is not under the control of mega tech companies.
The AI Foundation is a non-profit foundation that is developing open source software that will allow anyone to create his or her own Ai. This will enable the entire planet to create a digital duplication of oneself.
Why would anyone want to do this?
Aside from being a personal assistant, there is the factor of enhanced capabilities. Many fail to realize what can happen when one is presented with a mirror image of him or herself. While this sounds a bit "out there" at the moment, it is only a matter of us getting use to it before it becomes normal.
Many are starting to work in this direction to enhance their reach. Deepak Chopra volunteered to be the first test case for the AI Foundation. Being a well known author, speaker, and presenter, there is a lot of material for the AI to train on. This is leading to the development of another "Deepak" in the form of an application. This will allow anyone to get personalized insight from the alternative medicine practitioner 24/7 along with it being personalized. In other words, the goal is for the AI to "think" like Chopra would. Hence, the advice given will be exactly the same.
On that not, famous self help guru, Anthony Robbins, is alsodoing something similar.
Here is a video that is an example of what is being created for Deepak.
Certainly, this material is not everyone's cup of tea. The point here is not what the famous are doing but to emphasize what is possible. Imagine, instead of getting help from Chopra or Robbins, you get it from your digital self. Do not forget, the digital version of you is going to have access to the entire knowledge base of the world. It can access the information instantly from the best in any field. It can provide feedback to you based upon your own personality traits. Everything about you fed into the system will only make it more accurate.
And this brings up the main crux of the debate: Who is in control?
The mega tech companies that are working on this are seeking to control all the data themselves. This is something they stared decades ago and it keeps growing.
In my mind, we need to throw our weight behind those that promise open source, decentralized ownership of data. I love the idea of a personal assistant knowing everything about me. That said, I despise it being Alexa or Google Home.
Blockchain is a factor in all this because I believe it will be, eventually, the platform where our data is stored and owned by us. Thus, access to my digital file, where all the data I generate resides, will be openly granted to my personal AI. Anyone else, however, who wants it, will have to pay me via crypto to get in. This is the direction things are moving in.
It is not the Artificial Intelligence we should fear but, rather, who is controlling it. For this reason, we all need to support projects such as The AI Foundation and Singularitynet. These organizations are dedicated to creating a future where AI benefits humanity and not just a few governments or mega tech companies.
The bottom line is that it is coming. We have the ability to decide what that future will look like. Taking things into the realm of decentralized and open source is vital. If we accomplish this end, we will see a move forward in humanity like we never envisioned before.
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