Post by dylanharcourt on Feb 14, 2015 7:27:05 GMT
Week 5 Essay Questions
1. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future?
There has been a lot of discussion around artificial intelligence in articles, the media (movies like A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), I, Robot (2004), Plug & Pray (2010), Transcendence (2014), and many others), and through books. Nick Bostrom, professor at Oxford, has written several times on the issue, and he has also incorporated the topic into a variety of other works, like Existential Risks. In his latest book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, he explores countless issues with what could happen if technology could create a brain superior to the human mind. Other interesting aspects of artificial intelligence that I have read in some of his papers address ethics and human enhancement. After reading his claims, I believe that humans will face significant challenges when trying to upload the mind of a sentient being into a computer-based vessel. Given our lives are becoming increasingly digital, the accessibility of information has been incredibly enhanced. As stated in Digital Philosophy, “the internal is moving external” (Lane 7). Everything is stored; all of our lives are being documented and recorded. Thus, we are becoming vulnerable to our exposure on this neural network, and this is a problem in light of upload. Given a successful upload occurs, all of the memories, feelings, values and consciousness would be preserved. This would give incredible power to an uploaded mind (process information rapidly, gaining access to computational resources, etc.), and if everything were increasing digital, the ability to control (if desired to) would drastically affect people’s lives. It would be as if a computer virus was conscious and able to implement strategy and thought into computer hacking. Because of this, I believe humans will need to think carefully about which paths to take concerning AI. On the other hand, the creation of robotic beings (that have consciousness) will be dangerous as well. Because we do not understand consciousness well enough, the effects of augmenting the brain’s abilities are wildly speculative, and humans will face problems if artificial intelligence life forms do not want to preserve the human race. Nick Bostrom comments about this eloquently: “If some day we build machine brains that surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become very powerful. And, as the fate of the gorillas now depends on us humans than on the gorillas themselves, so the fate of our species would depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.” Overall, I think there are many potential problems, like all great advancements in history, but when analyzed, solutions can be constructed to avoid errors when creating artificial intelligence.
2. How has technology impacted your life?
I believe that technology creates my life, since life itself is so dependent on machines nowadays. Before the Television, what did people do after they got off work? Before the Internet was invented, how did people search information, read the news, talk to their friends, file their taxes, and pay their bills? Before the Iphone or Ipad, what did people carry around with them all day and spend countless hours using to share infinite amounts of information? The more I focus on how my days are spent, I find that everything I am doing revolves around technology; whether it’s waking up, driving, eating lunch, doing homework, working, managing my finances, spending time with people, etc., there is always something artificial or digital about each activity occurring. Not to sound mystified, but it is incredibly interesting how these non-living, unconscious, devices can manipulate our lives (both positively and negatively) more so than our closest friends and family. The attraction to the digital existence of people (through social media) grasps our attention often at times more than the real people themselves. Although, I am not frightened by the increasing digital transition (technology allows for so much to be done that was once never dreamed about); however, I do not want to become curtailed in my abilities by the same machines that were created to enhance my life. Moreover, I am skeptical that people are too dependent on such machines, (like a smartphone) and that they are blinded from the vulnerability to detriment the dependency is creating. Some may not be ready for their lives to be so digital and known to others.
1. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future?
There has been a lot of discussion around artificial intelligence in articles, the media (movies like A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), I, Robot (2004), Plug & Pray (2010), Transcendence (2014), and many others), and through books. Nick Bostrom, professor at Oxford, has written several times on the issue, and he has also incorporated the topic into a variety of other works, like Existential Risks. In his latest book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, he explores countless issues with what could happen if technology could create a brain superior to the human mind. Other interesting aspects of artificial intelligence that I have read in some of his papers address ethics and human enhancement. After reading his claims, I believe that humans will face significant challenges when trying to upload the mind of a sentient being into a computer-based vessel. Given our lives are becoming increasingly digital, the accessibility of information has been incredibly enhanced. As stated in Digital Philosophy, “the internal is moving external” (Lane 7). Everything is stored; all of our lives are being documented and recorded. Thus, we are becoming vulnerable to our exposure on this neural network, and this is a problem in light of upload. Given a successful upload occurs, all of the memories, feelings, values and consciousness would be preserved. This would give incredible power to an uploaded mind (process information rapidly, gaining access to computational resources, etc.), and if everything were increasing digital, the ability to control (if desired to) would drastically affect people’s lives. It would be as if a computer virus was conscious and able to implement strategy and thought into computer hacking. Because of this, I believe humans will need to think carefully about which paths to take concerning AI. On the other hand, the creation of robotic beings (that have consciousness) will be dangerous as well. Because we do not understand consciousness well enough, the effects of augmenting the brain’s abilities are wildly speculative, and humans will face problems if artificial intelligence life forms do not want to preserve the human race. Nick Bostrom comments about this eloquently: “If some day we build machine brains that surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become very powerful. And, as the fate of the gorillas now depends on us humans than on the gorillas themselves, so the fate of our species would depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.” Overall, I think there are many potential problems, like all great advancements in history, but when analyzed, solutions can be constructed to avoid errors when creating artificial intelligence.
2. How has technology impacted your life?
I believe that technology creates my life, since life itself is so dependent on machines nowadays. Before the Television, what did people do after they got off work? Before the Internet was invented, how did people search information, read the news, talk to their friends, file their taxes, and pay their bills? Before the Iphone or Ipad, what did people carry around with them all day and spend countless hours using to share infinite amounts of information? The more I focus on how my days are spent, I find that everything I am doing revolves around technology; whether it’s waking up, driving, eating lunch, doing homework, working, managing my finances, spending time with people, etc., there is always something artificial or digital about each activity occurring. Not to sound mystified, but it is incredibly interesting how these non-living, unconscious, devices can manipulate our lives (both positively and negatively) more so than our closest friends and family. The attraction to the digital existence of people (through social media) grasps our attention often at times more than the real people themselves. Although, I am not frightened by the increasing digital transition (technology allows for so much to be done that was once never dreamed about); however, I do not want to become curtailed in my abilities by the same machines that were created to enhance my life. Moreover, I am skeptical that people are too dependent on such machines, (like a smartphone) and that they are blinded from the vulnerability to detriment the dependency is creating. Some may not be ready for their lives to be so digital and known to others.