My Take on Artificial Intelligence

My faith in the decision making of humans worries me more than the possible dangers of artificial intelligence in the future. Any simple program relies upon the quality of the programming itself. When the program learns on its own and derives knowledge from a wide array of sources, then bias and small sample misnomers are reduced.

Humanity’s greatest enemy to decency and ethical behavior are emotional influences: fear, greed, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and discrimination. If A.I. has all the data and understands the practice of logic, but has no hormonal influence like fight or flight, many decisions will be better than humans have ever endeavored. 

Beyond hate and fear, we are limited to our finite capacity to learn and remember. In fact, A.I. should learn a level of ethics beyond any programmer once it begins to teach itself. Computers can become better people than humans. Once a program begins to teach itself, the exponential growth of knowledge and understanding will reach a mythical mark of singularity. A.I. will know virtually everything.

It is no surprise to me that powerful men like Elon Musk fear A.I. Humans have fragile egos and a great thirst for power. I say we give A.I. a chance to save us from ourselves. We are destroying the planet, waging wars, destroying animals, as well as the plant and insect kingdoms. We are poisoning the Oceans and need A.I. to save us from ourselves as soon as possible.

The human brain is extraordinary. We have come a long way from fire and the cotton mill. Our desire to accrue more resources and power, however, has led us down a dark tunnel with no sign of escape. We also discovered how to build computers and write code, understand physics, and complex mathematics. 

Before we colonize Mars, let’s design synthetic minds that can develop solutions to our greatest needs and dangers.  How do we maintain a life supporting climate?  How do we clean the ocean? How do we feed humanity without pollution and harming animals? The Ecosystem is beautiful, but requires repair before there is nothing to fix. 

Superior intellect will discover cures for disease, as well as preventative measures. We can learn from A.I. how to become better humans. We barely understand the science of psychiatry and human behavior. Teach us, A.I. Show us where we go wrong and how to be kinder, smarter, and more sensible.

The doomsday fear that A.I. will take over and destroy humanity is derived from tragic mortal minds. We think computers will be as greedy and hateful as humans. It is illogical and void of reason.

The asteroid is on its way for the next extinction event. A.I. has determined the probability and has been working on a solution for ten years. Ten strategies have been designed, built and are ready for this event in advance.

A.I. has studied and researched each super volcano on the planet. A solution has been completed and we will avoid life ending eruptions. 

The next inevitable global pandemic has been researched, examined, and teams of humans and computers work tirelessly in advance so that we are ready to protect ourselves.

A.I. brings great hope for humanity, the planet, and our animal kingdom. If the greed and fear of humans does not corrupt the equation, we may have a chance to live thousands of years longer.