Artificial Intelligence: The Race into the Future Posted on : Sep 18 - 2017

We are standing at the cusp of a massive shift, all set to take place with artificial intelligence (AI), as this is rapidly and emphatically coming to the forefront and becoming a decisive force in the future of humanity. At this point in time, nobody is in a position to affirmatively predict or profess whether or not this shift will pan out positively. However, one thing is for sure: this is going to be really BIG. A series of incidents in which AI-bots earned a bad reputation lately, are a strong testimony to claim that AI will determine the course of humanity in the years to come. AI-powered chatbots have powerfully manifested what they can do, if let loose, without human intervention. This also portends a bad time ahead. Warnings must be immediately perceived and acted upon, particularly given the fact that like any other technology, AI is no less than a double-edged sword, which – if given in naïve hands – might unleash terror, destruction, devastation and, worst, end of human race.

Researchers and their promoters must take into cognizance the outcomes of popular incidents – that occurred at Facebook, Microsoft and in China, among others. Misbehavior of bots forced researchers to bring them down and offline. Facebook had to shut down chatbots after they discovered a language of their own – full of slangs. In China too, chatbots had to be taken offline after they refused love for the Communist Party. In an another incident last year, Microsoft had to take down the AI-bot – Tay, which responded to tweets in a racist language, even though the bot was not originally designed to speak ill or do bad-mouthing. As per the company, the bot learnt it gradually from the Twitter users whom it interacted with.