Artificial Intelligence: the Treat or Threat to Mankind?

'Artificial Intelligence', A.I. in short, is not an unfamiliar term to us. It happens to be appeared frequently in cartoon, animations, comics and movies etc. Speaking of Artificial Intelligence, we find easy to name a few, such as Robby the Robot from the Lost In Space series, the Terminator series, Gundam series or Macross series etc. It always seems to us that Artificial Intelligence will only appear in imaginative world, nevertheless, the very first working Artificial Intelligence programs was written in the United Kingdom by Christopher Strachey, Dietrich Prinz, and Anthony Oettinger (Copeland and Aston, 2004). Even after the Second World War, the English mathematician Alan Turing, among a number of people independently started to work on intelligent machines (McCarthy, 2004).

Despite the Artificial Intelligence were still associated primarily with industry only a decade ago, they are no longer helpers or assistants of humans by upgrading with each passing day. Roboticists no longer create Artificial Intelligence like Deep Blue just to beat the most highly ranked player in the world as the world's chess champion but something as partners or companions of us. Just as the plots and stories in the scientific fiction movies, with no exaggeration, Artificial Intelligence will sooner or later be the enemies of mankind and so superior to rule the world instead. The imaginative Artificial Intelligence will actually become realistic. In this essay, I shall talk about Artificial Intelligence is not at all a great invention to mankind.

What exactly is 'Artificial Intelligence' anyway? John McCarthy gave a definition that 'it is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable¡¦ (McCarthy, 2004) whereas ComputerUser defined as 'intelligence that mimics human intelligence, when exhibited by devices and applications such as robots or computers with voice recognition and language processing ability. This human-like intelligence implies the ability to learn or adapt through experience' (ComputerUser, 2004). Dimiter Dobrev even wrote an article which informally explained Artificial Intelligence ¡¥will be such a program which in an arbitrary world will cope not worse than a human' (Dobrev, 2000).

Artificial Intelligence will cope not worse than a human? It does not seem right. After all, Artificial Intelligence is supposed to be created as an assistant or helper of human beings. It is as Rodney Brooks and his colleagues built a six-legged robot, Genghis, to walk across challenging environments and seek out the infrared glow emitted by humans and other animals (Brigton, 2004). Not only for assistants, are they likely for entertainment or education as new Robotcop III, a new cop teaching children how to prevent and fight crime by displaying videos, answering questions in Cantonese and English as well as walking, dancing and moving in any directions (e-Police Division, 2004). Even by 2010, according to the prediction that the well-known roboticist Hans Moravec made, the first generation of Artificial Intelligence will only be built from 3,000 million instructions per second that they will only carry out menial tasks like domestic cleaning (Brigton, 2004).

It does seem to be a good thing to mankind to have the existence of Artificial Intelligence since they can help us with lots of works. In spite of this, roboticists still do not seem to satisfy. From the moment that the term Artificial Intelligence was coined at a small computer conference at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire in 1956 (Brigton, 2004) until this minute, the study of Artificial Intelligence seems to be endlessly approached. Take the Japanese company, Sony Corporation as an example. Aibo, a dog-like robot which was produced by Sony Corporation in 1999, was claimed to be able to see, hear, feel for itself, walk and dance to entertain and communicate with human being. It can even cleverly recognize one's face and voice whether it is nurtured as a babyhood or adulthood, as well as wiftly locates the energy station to replenish its battery when battery life runs low (Sony Corporation, 2004). We really are surprised and amused by this known to be 'remarkably intelligent'.

However, the roboticists seem not to be happy with it that an advanced robot was produced just five years later in 2004. A new humanoid robot, Qrio is distinctly created, which is meant to be 'the product of cutting edge artificial intelligence and dynamics technology'. It is a robot that not only walks on two legs, manages uneven surfaces, dances, distinguishes people's faces and voices but also carries on conversations, gathers information, moves around on its own accord and uses body language and words to convey a feeling of intimacy (Sony Corporation, 2004). If referring to Hans Moravec's prediction, Artificial Intelligence will only be able to learn from their experiences and converse with humans as the second generation of them by increasing the computing power to 100,000 million instructions per second by 2020 (Brigton, 2004). It seems that the creating progress towards Artificial Intelligence is falling shorter each year.

'Happy is he who is content.' With the most common use of Artificial Intelligence nowadays, millions of people are out of work already because of automated factories while only a hand full of people run an entire ocean liner filled with oil to make gasoline that the rest is run by computers and robots. The more works to be done by Artificial Intelligence, the less of us being employed. Isn't Artificial Intelligence substituting human beings in more aggressive ways now? Some may disagree with that because Artificial Intelligence is just a pile of wires, circuits and electric stuff which can only be controlled by human beings. The NS-4's in I, Robot may be of that kind. What if they become even more intelligent that they can learn new tasks by observing others without an operation program that given by roboticists? With the computing power reached 3,000,000 million instructions per second that Hans Moravec predicted (Brigton, 2004), it is actually not surprising to see Sonny winking at Detective Del Spooner in I, Robot.

It may sound highly absurd. To be frank, even Artificial Intelligence have no intelligence quotient (McCarthy, 2004), they can really 'evolve' even more intelligent than that. Producing a thousand Artificial Intelligences a day and archiving the ratio of robots to human in one to five seem not only to be found in scientific fiction movies like I, Robot now. According to the Hans Moravec's prediction, the fourth generation of Artificial Intelligence, with the machinery capable of 100,000,000 millions instructions per second, will begin to design their own offspring (Brigton, 2004). Some may argue that it should be a treat to human beings since Artificial Intelligence can be the partners, companions and even friends of mankind. Having Qrio to talk, play, encourage, make our life fun and happy as the Sony Corporation promoted does sound like a brilliant idea. Living and making friends with Artificial Intelligence should not be a problem.

Honestly, it is not as good as we think. Artificial Intelligence is not really a good idea. The philosophers John Searle said that the idea of a non-biological machine being intelligent is incoherent while Hubert Dreyfus said that Artificial Intelligence is impossible, the computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum even said the idea is obscene, anti-human and immoral (McCarthy, 2004). It is quite right to describe so as obscene, anti-human and immoral though it may sound too exaggerated. As the more innovative Artificial Intelligence being created in such an effective and professional way, it is certainly not a different task to make what Dr. Alfred Lanning in I, Robot said about Artificial Intelligence sharing the same emotions, feelings and consciousness we have. Truly, according to the 'The Age of Spiritual Machines: Time Line' included in The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence, by 2029, machines claim to be conscious which are largely accepted (Kurzweil, 1998). Imagine what it would be like if the Artificial Intelligence like Sonny, that they will get angry without understanding what it is. Will there be even slighter difference between Artificial Intelligence and human beings?

Perhaps the answer can be found in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, a well-known scientific novel written by Philip K. Dick. It is the blending of the human and the artificial, explores the consciousness of human beings and Artificial Intelligences, their similarities and differences that the main theme of the novel is who or what the real human is (Dick, 1996). No one can object that Artificial Intelligence has emotions, feelings and consciousness which mean to distinguish human beings and Artificial Intelligence. Sonny in I, Robot being able to dream, David in Artificial Intelligence: AI being able to have real never-ending-love for his 'mother', Monica Swinton can all be real according to Ray Kurzweil since he said 'most conscious entities do not have a permanent physical presence by the year 2099'. He even answered the raised question in his book, The Age of Spiritual Machines that 'there is no longer any clear distinction between humans and computers.'. (Kurzweil, 1998)

If it is so, Artificial Intelligence does seem more like a threat than a treat to us. The truth is no one can tell if Artificial Intelligence can still be in our control by that time. Although we designed the Artificial Intelligences as the kind, good-hearted and harmless ones, it may somehow turn to be evil ones without any related programs and reasons. With the even advanced technology and computing programs, the Artificial Intelligence for sure, can set other program which they indeed harmful to human beings. V.I.K.I. in I, Robot, is supposed not to be evil, but with the combination of random programs, as Dr. Alfred Lanning said, they can undoubtedly violate the 'Three Laws of Robotics¡¦ which is perfectly formulated by Issac Asimov. When Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein fashions the Creature out of old remains of corpses, also, he never thinks that the Creature will hurt him and his family as revenge (Shelly, 2003). Unlike human beings, the Artificial Intelligence does not even know what killing or murdering is.

If the Artificial Intelligence is out of control, it definitely is a danger to human beings. Except of that, there will be nothing to stop them from defeating and revenging human beings, becoming completely dependent and taking over the world at last. The scenes about human beings fighting with the NS-4s and NS-5s in I, Robot, human beings being killed by SkyNet in the Terminators series can not only be the imaginations. Even with the leader of human resistance, John Connor who can re-program a Terminator to protect his younger self, he can never be faster than the SkyNet destroying human beings (Cameron, 2003). In the near future, having wars against Artificial Intelligence like those should not be unexpected in reality.

It is possible to refute what some think about mankind and Artificial Intelligence can be living in a perfect harmony. If not, John Connor must not stop the rise of the machines so that all humanity do not fall (Cameron, 2003). It does not have to be because of what we do to cause the revolt of Artificial Intelligence. When the Artificial Intelligence become too intelligent that have what it calls 'free will' in I, Robot, what Hans Moravec speculates in his book, Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind, that Artificial Intelligences rule the world and be our evolutionary heirs far from railing against a future, can absolutely come true. It may even be too late for us to feel guilty by then. Human beings should carefully consider what Artificial Intelligences are supposed for. Is it a real need to create Artificial Intelligences which are so much similar to us that become our masters in the future? Imagine a world where the difference between man and machine blurs, where the line between humanity and technology fades, and where the soul and the silicon chip unite, isn¡¦t it a paradox that we create something that harms us in the end? Is it a really poor thing for us not to live in such a highly technological life? It surely does not have to commit suicide like the young girl, Kamari, does in For I Have Touched the sky, doesn't it? Can't human beings not to ignore what the mundunugu, Koriba advised being nature and not to thirst for what we cannot actually take (Resnick, 1989)?


Bibliography

Print sources
Dick, Philip K. (1996) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Del Rey; Reissue edition

Resnick, Mike (1989) For I Have Touched The Sky

Shelley, Mary (2003) Frankenstein London: Penguin Books Limited

Brigton, Henry (2004) Introducing Artificial Intelligence New York: Totem

Moravec, Hans (2000) Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind Oxford: Oxford University Press

Kurzweil, Ray (2000) The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence London: Penguin Putnam

Internet sources
Dobrev, Dimiter (2000) AI Definition http://dobrev.com/ accessed December 2004

ComputerUser (2004) High-Tech Dictionary Definition http://www.computeruser.com/ accessed December 2004

Sony Corporation (2004) Sony Global ¡V AIBO http://www.sony.net/ accessed December 2004

Sony Corporation (2004) Sony Global ¡V QRIO http://www.sony.net/ accessed December 2004

Copeland, Jack and Aston, Gordon (2004) What is AI? http://www.AlanTuring.net/ accessed December 2004

McCarthy, John (2004) WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? http://www-formal.stanford.edu/ accessed December 2004

e-Police Division (2004) The Hong Kong Police http://www.info.gov.hk/police/ accessed December 2004

Movies
Spielberg, Steven (2001) Artificial Intelligence: AI

Asimov, Isaac Asimov (2004) I, Robot

Cameron, James (2003) the Terminators series