AI is the latest obsession of the doomsday merchants – The Irish Times
And now we come to our section “The end of the world is near”. Yes, folks, brace yourself for the latest shock, horror, and “we’re all done this time” warning coming from the people who will never have peace if they think you can.
Yes, more suffering from the people who gave us MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) through nuclear war in the 1960s; global burning due to a depleted ozone layer in the 1970s and 1980s; worldwide combustion And Drowning (of course!) by climate change over the past few decades; and now AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Yes, dear, deranged fellow human beings, self-taught computers are about to conquer the world and plunge us into oblivion forever and ever. Amen. And happily: “So long, you puny people. Not so nice to know you.” Possibly.
If I may interrupt here. We haven’t gone insane. Despite so many nuclear weapons in the world, common sense prevailed. It helps, perhaps, that an inevitable result of pressing the button is that whoever does it is likely to take their own life as well. The ozone layer has been regenerating since an international agreement in 1987 to end the use of harmful chemicals.
Is it really believable that we allow ourselves to be enslaved by the computers we create? Is our destiny the same as the crew of Discovery One in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey?
There is every reason to believe that, over time, similar agreements will help mitigate the effects of climate change. Humanity can be stupid, but it’s not crazy. That is why we have survived these estimated 300,000 years on an unstable planet with its earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines and diseases. And despite the endless wars and rumors of wars for which we bear full responsibility, we shuffle on.
In this scenario, is it really believable that we allow ourselves to be enslaved by the computers we create? Is our destiny the same as the crew of Discovery One in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey? If you remember (should there be a spoiler alert for a 55-year-old movie?), that’s where the sentient computer HAL takes over, with dire consequences for the people on board. Finally, HAL is rolled back.
Here, in the “real” world, the debate is now centered on what is called singularity, the moment when technological growth could become uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in a powerful superintelligence far surpassing ours.
Such a perfect area for the doomsday traders. Woe to them!
singularityfrom Latin singularitatem, “point at which a function takes on an infinite value”.