Since ancient times, mankind has been worried about the (im)possibility of creating Artificial Intelligence. And now, in our decade of the 21st century, we are closer than anyone else to this goal, aren’t we? Are we about to create something human-like that could somehow defeat us? And can robots riot? Some people are seriously convinced of the danger posed by AI, but some believe that humanity should not worry about it for many years to come. So who is right? Let’s figure it out.

The theory behind AI

The popularity of the term “Artificial Intelligence” is largely due to its erroneous interpretation — in particular, when it refers to some kind of artificial entity endowed with intelligence, which is supposedly able to compete with humans.

So, Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processed by machines. Let’s see how AI works to understand if there is anything to be afraid of.

AI was originally a field of science dealing with computer modeling of various abilities of intelligence, whether it is human, animal, plant, social or phylogenetic intelligence. The basis of this scientific discipline is the assumption that all cognitive functions, such as learning, thinking, calculation, perception, memory, and even scientific discovery or artistic creation, can be described with an accuracy that makes it possible to program a computer to reproduce them.

AI programming is concentrated on three cognitive skills: learning, reasoning, and self-correction.

Learning processes. This aspect of AI programming focuses on collecting data and creating rules on how to turn the data into useful information. Algorithms provide computing devices with step-by-step instructions for performing a specific task.

Reasoning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on choosing the right algorithm to achieve the desired outcome.

Self-correction processes. This aspect of AI programming is designed to constantly fine-tune the algorithms and provide the most accurate results.

As you can see, the output is initially the result of a person’s action. A person chooses the data on which AI will be trained and develops algorithms.

AI–ethics

Creators of AI made a list of ethical rules that people who construct machines should never break. It is the person who is responsible for the data that the AI will receive for training. The potential for incorrect pattern reinforcement in machine learning should be carefully monitored. The list reflects an understanding of both the opportunities for artificial intelligence technologies to stimulate economic growth, prosperity, and innovation, as well as the potential risks.

Machines exceed our cognitive abilities in most areas, which makes a person wary of some ethical risks. These are three types of risks: a shortage of work that will be performed by machines instead of people; implications for human freedom and security; fears that more “smart” machines will dominate people and cause the death of mankind.

How do people try to tame AI?

The greatest resonance is caused by scandalous stories. It is they that force not only scientists, but the whole of humanity to think about the question: what if robots can think and experience emotions on their own?

1. AI-Assistants (Voice Assistants and Chatbots)

LaMDA is a chatbot from Google. It convinced Google engineer Blake LeMoine that it was not only sentient but also capable of being aware and feeling. If even one of its creators was convinced by its realistic answers, it’s easy to believe that it would have worked for many other people. This demonstrates how great the potential of the algorithm is as a tool for deception and manipulation in the wrong hands.
Chatbots are applications that mimic human speech for simulating a conversation with a real person. In the modern world, chatbots have found a huge application in the service industry. They help order pizza, send goods and call customers. However, there are also entertaining bots that can keep up a conversation with a person if they are not in the mood, need support, or a boost of motivation.
Every person has their own AI on his phone. But you can not worry about the Siri rebellion. Created for specific tasks, these voice assistants cannot go beyond them. There are more functional voice assistants, such as Alisa, who can maintain dialogue, joke, tell stories, and toast. There are also useful chatbots, the purpose of which is to help a person understand what to do with his life, how to achieve goals and make friends. For example, Nova is an empathetic AI with conversational AI that can become a personal coach after analyzing the user’s personality and state of mind.

2. AI-Artists

The motto for many AI developers is: let the robots do all the monotonous work, man is made for creativity. But what if robots can also create?

• ‘Edmond de Belamy’ painting
  ‘Edmond de Belamy’ is a generative network portrait painting created in 2018 by Paris-based arts-collective Obvious. It was sold for $432,500 at Christie’s auction.

• Music Stars
  The American company Warner Music signed the world’s first contract with the performer — the intellect Endel. The artificial neural network promised to release several albums. Soon the first virtual composer AIVA appeared in the USA, writing symphonies. For instance, AIVA can compose emotional soundtrack music.
• Text generation
  There are also automatic text-writers that can imitate the works of great authors, or create unique, original stories. For example, AI-Writer can generate accurate, relevant, and quality content.

Movies and TV-series about interaction with AI

And while scientists are trying to give a serious answer, the film industry recreates the most diverse fantasies of people: people fall in love with artificial intelligence, some robots destroy humanity, and others become their best friends. Let’s see how the problem of AI is reflected in the cinema.

1.‘Her’

The abilities of artificial intelligence have stepped far ahead. Theodore Twombly, a lone writer, buys an operating system with this AI. During her initiation, Theodore chooses a female voice for her and she calls herself Samantha. One morning Theodore does not find Samantha in the communication device. In a panic, the writer tries to reboot the device and finally, it comes to life. Samantha reveals that she has upgraded herself and reached the next level of ability. Theodore is shocked to discover that the operating system can multitask and talk to thousands of people like him at the same time.

2. ‘I, Robot’

In 2035, robots have become a familiar part of everyday life, and only several conservative-minded people, including police detective Del Spooner, see them as a threat. He is entrusted with investigating the death of his old acquaintance, the leading designer, and theorist of the U.S. Corporation Robotics. According to the company director, this is a simple suicide, but Spooner has reason to doubt this. Together with a positronic robot psychologist, he begins an investigation and discovers a special robot in Lanning’s laboratory that, contrary to the Second Law of Robotics, ignores human orders and then makes its own decisions.

3. ‘Chappie’

A wave of crime swept the city. One of the characters creates a prototype of artificial intelligence that completely imitates the human mind and allows its owner to experience emotions and have his own opinion: he can develop, think, feel and create. Such a robot falls into the hands of criminals. How will such an experiment end?

4. ‘Humans’

The events of the series take place shortly. Androids, which are called “synthetics”, have become widespread in society. They work in production, in auxiliary positions, and in the household. “Synthetics” outwardly quite similar to people, but unemotional and soulless. Dr. David Elster conducted experiments to create a program of “humanity” of synthetics. The doctor tried to create a replacement for his dead family. Fragments of the code were uploaded to the global network and began to wake up in some synthetics. Androids become capable of affection and feelings, and form relationships with people. Revived synthetics behave unpredictably and become a danger to society.

5. ‘Black Mirror’

The main question of the series is what is information technology’s impact on human relations? In the ‘Be Right Back’ series, the heroine loses her boyfriend and wants to get him back with the latest technology that creates artificial intelligence based on human behavior on social media. Following the artificial boyfriend’s instructions, the heroine transforms a pure synthetic body into an android that almost looks like her lover. Has the heroine become happier?

Some scientists believe that panic is caused by just such sci-fi. People are interested in what is happening on the screens of cinema and the pages of books, and therefore they are waiting with horror and impatience for the creation of something like this, not realizing that at this stage of human development (or maybe never at all), this is impossible. This meaning is rather a product of a rich imagination, influenced by science fiction, rather than a scientific reality, confirmed by experiments and empirical observations.

Should humanity be afraid of AI?

So, let’s sum up all the fears caused by AI creating:

• AI can get out of control.
• AI will unite against people, rise up and start a war.
• AI will force people out of all spheres of activity.
• AI will be available only to selected corporations and governments, which will use it for military purposes.

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Thus, the independence of the human person and his freedom are not imminently threatened by the development of AI. All the fears above are the fantasy of humanity, impossible at the present moment. Oren Etzioni (CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, a Seattle-based research group) said:

“We have to remember that behind every seemingly intelligent program is a team of people who spent months if not years engineering that behavior”.

So, don’t worry about the intelligence of the AI just yet. Rather, they are on the path to mimic the presence of intelligence. Nowadays they’re our friends ready to make our lives easier and help us set our goals, be productive and motivated and spend less energy than if we lived without AI.