Addressing the Biggest Concerns in Artificial Intelligence
Are the advancement in Artificial Intelligence going to make humans redundant? Would creativity and innovation, which are still the exclusive domains of humans, be soon captured by programs that themselves would be able to code? Get the answer to this and more.
10 February 1996, is a day that lives in infamy for many chess enthusiasts. That was the day artificial intelligence, a computer named Deep Blue, defeated a chess grandmaster. It was a monumental day for software engineers, as before this moment, no computer had ever succeeded in defeating opponents of this skill level.
People were apprehensive at this news, thinking that it was the start of humankind's fall. However, there is more to worry about than just computers beating humans in inconsequential games. The question is, are these concerns simply products of paranoia, or are they reasonable?AI in surveillance
Laws state that camera surveillance is only considered illegal in private spaces – that being "spaces where a reasonable person would expect privacy." This means that installing surveillance cameras to monitor the streets and establishments like restaurants and banks is fair game. However, what concerns people is the use of artificial intelligence or AI in conjunction with this surveillance. Data annotation and facial recognition can be used to gather information on individuals. Law enforcement often uses this data to improve criminal tracking models, and companies may analyze data to improve store layout or product selection. The main concern lies in how this data is stored and shared. If companies intend to incorporate this in their business model, they must invest in strong security measures to ensure customer privacy. Additionally, it can't be denied that AI in surveillance can help improve public safety and convenience.Ethical and legislative concerns
We've learned in the past decades that when technology evolves faster than legislation can keep up, it brings about the rise of questionable business practices, often at the expense of consumers. For example, only three states in the United States have comprehensive digital privacy laws as of 2021. This means that outside of those states, companies are free to sell the data you unknowingly provided them online, like browsing history and personal information. As AI becomes more advanced and capable of more complex tasks, legislators will need to pass laws to ensure this technology isn't being used for nefarious purposes. Besides creating laws, they need to ensure they're adequately implemented by training cybercrime departments on dealing with emerging crimes related to these innovations.Unemployment
The biggest apprehension that people have with AI is that it will act as competition in the job market. We are already seeing companies automating and digitizing their processes, resulting in major layoffs. However, people fail to understand that by leaving mindless work to robots, human employees can tackle work fitting their credentials more. This includes monitoring and maintaining the hardware and AI and performing tasks that require more nuanced thinking.
It's normal to be concerned about emerging technologies, especially ones with so much untapped potential. Not even the best scientists can likely predict the trajectory of AI, but what we do know is that AI can do so much to improve our quality of life. If the technology is carefully monitored and regulated, we don't have to worry about it spiralling out of control.
