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Let me embellish it by sharing an excerpt from Yuval Noah Harari one of my favourite authors, Book ‘ 21 Lessons from 21st century’. He holds the view that “In the coming decades, AI and biotechnology will give us godlike abilities to reengineer life and reshape societies. But if we use our newfound divine powers with the same shortsighted irresponsibility that we have been showing in our dealings with the environment, our species might come to regret it. To make wise choices about the future of life, we need to go beyond the dichotomy of intelligence versus consciousness. We need to go beyond the dichotomy of nature versus industry. Above all, we need to go beyond the dichotomy of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’” Once upon a time, on this habitable planet revolving around a star in milky way galaxy, there were no computers, no phones to have a talk from a distance, no X and metaverse to keep up with other beings and share everything in taps. Then, all of a sudden, we had AI. It started with some guy building a machine that could add numbers, and now we have robots that can do just about everything except maybe floss your teeth. AI went from being a clunky piece of metal to something that might steal your job tomorrow. It’s like a really fast-growing weed that we can’t control anymore. So, buckle up, because the evolution of AI is one wild, crazy ride that might just end with us serving our new digital masters. In the bustling world of computers and gadgets, AI is like that annoying kid at the party who just won’t go away. Imagine a robot that not only makes your coffee but also decides if you should drink it. That’s the world we’re heading towards. Soon, AI will be so powerful that humans might as well pack up and leave. Forget about controlling our future; we should be more concerned about AI turning us into their pets. This is not science fiction; it’s the nightmare of tomorrow. Buckle up, because the age of human supremacy is coming to an end, and our new robotic overlords are ready to take over. In 2016, Alpha Go, an AI program developed by Deep Mind (a subsidiary of Google), achieved a landmark victory in the field of artificial intelligence by defeating Lee Sedol, one of the world’s top Go players. Go, a complex board game with more possible moves than atoms in the universe, had long been considered a major challenge for AI due to its deep strategy and intuition-based play. Let’s have a look why it is significant in this AI-human tug of war.
1: Complexity of Go: The game’s complexity requires a level of strategic thinking and intuition that had previously been thought to be beyond the reach of AI.
2: Machine Learning: AlphaGo utilized deep learning and neural networks, learning from millions of moves from human players as well as playing against itself to improve.
3:-Strategic Insight: During the match, AlphaGo made several highly unconventional moves that stunned human experts, demonstrating an understanding of the game that was previously unimaginable. Implications AlphaGo’s success showcased the potential of AI to not only match but exceed human abilities in specific intellectual tasks. It raised important questions about the future of AI, including its potential applications and the ethical considerations of its use.AlphaGo’s victory is often cited as a case where AI has overpowered human expertise, demonstrating the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in complex problem-solving and decision-making scenarios. I can delineate Some of the potential myriad implications if AI keeps going the way it’s going, as below.
“By harnessing AI responsibly and ethically, humanity has the potential to create a future where technology enhances our capabilities and improves the quality of life for all.”
Job Displacement: The old hard-wired conception of earning by physical labour will not be having any relevance probably. AI and automation could lead to massive unemployment as machines outperform humans in more and more tasks. This “useless class” could be economically and socially marginalized, the new subaltern and a much weaker proletariat.
Economic Inequality: AI could exacerbate economic inequality as those who own and control AI technologies might gain unprecedented wealth and power, leaving others behind.This will not be equivalent to the disparity exposed by Hegel and Marx in the maturation of Industrial era, it will be altogether different, who knows.
Political Power: Governments and corporations with advanced AI capabilities could gain significant political power, potentially leading to authoritarianism and surveillance states.It will be an ideal dictatorship where it will be impossible to defy the matrix as displayed in sci-fi movies.
Privacy Issues: The ability of AI to process vast amounts of data could lead to a significant erosion of privacy, with constant monitoring and data collection becoming the norm, making the hard-earned liberty and privacy a myth. There will be no self. Decision-making and Bias: AI systems, if not properly managed, can perpetuate and amplify biases present in their training data, leading to unfair and discriminatory outcomes. The only thing which remains to be seen is that will the divisions get on the same lines, or it will make some new contours for the ‘us and them’ dynamics.
Security and Warfare: AI technologies could be used in warfare, leading to autonomous weapons and new forms of conflict, raising ethical and security concerns.
Human Agency and Identity: As AI makes more decisions on behalf of humans; there is a risk of diminishing human agency and altering our sense of identity and purpose. The most life-altering implication of AI to me is that we will no more have an aesthetic touch in our life; AI will decide what’s aesthetic and what fits into art and beauty. There’s a lot about it but let it be.
Social and Ethical Challenges: Society must address the ethical implications of AI, including the moral responsibility for decisions made by AI systems and the rights of AI entities
Existential Risks: Harari warns of the potential existential risks AI poses, including the possibility of AI systems that operate beyond human control or understanding, potentially leading to unforeseen and catastrophic outcomes. What if it gets out hand, no one knows but its obvious that we are still in the game with some moves left. Its aim’s late yet there’s a lot to come our way.Lets end on an optimistic note presented by Harari. He also opined in his book that “Technology is never deterministic: it can be used to create very different kinds of societies. In the 21st century, new technologies such as AI could liberate humankind from age-old drudgeries such as disease and poverty, but they might also concentrate power in the hands of a small elite.” So we ought to anticipate better from our own creations as in the coming decades, AI could revolutionize countless fields, from healthcare to transportation, offering unprecedented opportunities for innovation and progress. By harnessing AI responsibly and ethically, humanity has the potential to create a future where technology enhances our capabilities and improves the quality of life for all.
(The author is a student of Political Science at AMU Aligarah. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)