4 Things Everyone Should Fear About Artificial Intelligence and the Future Posted on : Feb 22 - 2018

Advances in artificial intelligence have the potential to supercharge medical research and better detect diseases, but it could also amplify the actions of bad actors.

That’s according to a report released this week by a team of academics and researchers from Oxford University, Cambridge University, Stanford University, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, artificial intelligence research group OpenAI, and others institutes.

The report’s authors aren’t concerned with sci-fi doomsday scenarios like robots taking over the world, such as in Terminator, but more practical concerns. Criminals, for instance, could use machine learning technologies to further automate hacking attempts, putting more pressure on already beleaguered corporate security officers to ensure their computer systems are safe.

The goal of the report is not to dissuade companies, researchers, or the public from AI, but to highlight the most realistic concerns so people can better prepare and possibly prevent future cyber attacks or other problems related to AI. The authors urge policymakers to work with researchers on addressing possible AI issues, and for technologists involved in AI to consider a code of ethics, among other recommendations.

Here’s some interesting takeaways:

1. Phishing scams could get even worse

Phishing scams, in which criminals send seemingly legitimate emails bundled with malicious links, could become even more prevalent and effective thanks to AI. The report outlines a scenario in which people’s online information and behaviors, presumably scraped from social networks like Twitter and Facebook, could be used to automatically create custom emails that entice them to click. These emails, bad websites, or links, could be sent from fake accounts that are able to mimic the writing style of people’s friends so they look real. View More