HUMANITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

John McCarthy first coined this term back in 1955. This term was so fascinating
that in 1956 he joined with others to create the very first artificial intelligence
conference. In the 1960s computers seem poised to surpass human intelligence,
but it turned out that machines struggle with balance and common sense. Back
then there was much less data available, which is crucial for AI to be able to
operate correctly, and that´s why these machines weren´t as powerful as today.
Today, AI has improved a lot since it revolutionized in 2010. AI revolutionized that
year thanks to its capacity of deep learning neural networks that discern complex
patterns in huge quantities of data and react in real time. AI machines are learning
themselves, and that´s what has made them so powerful. Nowadays, we´re
hearing much more about AI because it has made great progress at both low
cognitive processing and also at the things that we humans used to think that were
high level like playing chess.
The impact of AI in our future seems to be greater than we can prepare for it. AI
could trigger greater appreciation and understanding of the most complex
machinery we know of, the human mind. AI could also relieve us of drudgery,
tedious or dangerous tasks. If it is applied correctly, AI will make our lives easier in
certain areas such as health care, agriculture, business processes and educations.
AI´s capacity of storing great quantities of data could make it possible for these
machines to make difficult decisions and do things that even the programmers can
´t do.
Not everything about AI is positive, because there are some risks that we face. If
we ever design machines that are smarter than us, there´s no guarantee that we´re
going to remain in control. AI could steal our jobs and rob our lives of meaning.
One of the problems with AI´s future is that human freedoms and options are
increasingly influenced by opaque, inscrutable algorithms, so we could easily loose
control and move into an algorithmically driven society.
I think that we can make an incredible future with AI technology if we are able to
learn how to manage it wisely. Of course, there are risks, but we can use AI to help
us make our lives easier in certain areas. If we act transparently, AI could help us
build a great society, where technology gives us the opportunity of taking good
decisions based on evidence. It could also prevent a lot of accidents, and open our
comprehension of the world.
By Samuel Arango Guerra 10°C