But only because man will never want to give up control of
one thing and that is to create life and think they own it.
In a recent article I read, one of our century’s great minds,
Professor Stephen Hawking, mentioned that the creation of Artificial Intelligence
would lead to the end of the human race. I'm inclined; as I'm sure many would
be after hearing him out, to take a moment to listen to him. But instead of taking
the scientist’s reasoning I think there’s more to it that will be the ultimate
cause of our inevitable destruction.
Humans have always been striving to advance their situation,
since the dawn of time with the creation of the wheel. But with it, came the
advancement not only of their way of life but the way they lived it. Once the
wheel was built, humans somehow began to need the wheel to live on and so their
lives shifted to require that wheel to be part of their way of life. From there
the wheel became a part of who they were, it was theirs. You see the creation
of the wheel didn't just advance the way man lived, but the way man thought they needed to live as well and
as we know it didn't stop at the wheel.
Science can be described as mankind's most ambiguous of wheels
as it creates and destroys theories left and right, but what I find most intriguing
is the challenge science presents with all the information it has presented us
with but most fascinating of all is the lack of knowledge it constantly proves
to show we have when it comes to the creation of life itself, one of the things
that man has been most obsessed with since forever.
It’s no surprise that a thing like Artificial Intelligence
has been something humans have been working on to break through that barrier of
not knowing. But unlike nature, who is free giving in its gifts, man cannot
create without owning what it has made. Just like the wheel, man’s attempt to
create life will also be its attempt to own life. And here is where I agree with
the professor as I see the problems that could lead to any Artificial Intelligence
being born only to go against us.
It is human nature to take pride in your work, your
creation. But it’s that pride that also takes ownership. If Professor Hawking’s
were right about the AI evolving as humans, if not faster, then they would not
take kindly to the idea of being ‘owned’. Good examples can be taken from the
many Sci-Fi movies that Hollywood likes to pump out every few years. Better examples
would be humans themselves, just look at Apartheid and slavery across history
and countries around the world.
In striving to better their situation, mankind would seek to
create life. It would be a great advancement of technology, there’s no doubt
about that. But to create something does that mean you own it? Can man be like
the free-giving Mother Nature?
While it’s a good thing that man continues to strive, it’s
also a good thing to question the things we strive for. Because while we may be
looking to better our situation, we could also be looking to elaborately
destroy ourselves.
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