Artificial intelligence’s war of words

World
Europe

Wherever you go in Silicon Valley, you can’t escape AI.

When we talk about smartphones, AI is at the heart of how your smartphone searches for information.

When we talk about digital assistants, AI is at the heart of how naturally an artificial voice speaks to you.

When we talk about self-driving cars, AI is the backbone of how the vehicle makes its decisions.

When we talk about robotics, everyone knows the next step is how a robot will be able to make decisions on its own and become more human-like.

That’s AI.

Farmstead supermarket is a silicon valley start-up that utilizes AI technology to find out their customers' shopping preferences. /CGTN Photo

With the help of AI, Farmstead can predict how many products to order and effectively reduce waste. Customers also enjoy lower prices. /CGTN Photo

It seems these days everyone has an opinion about AI, so let’s search the web to find what some of the famous tech minds are saying about this controversial issue:

"Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid, the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. It brings dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many. It could bring great disruption to our economy," physicist Stephen Hawking once said.

Stephen Hawking presenting at a conference /CGTN Photo

Telsa Founder & CEO Elon Musk also warned that “if you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea.”

This isn’t the first time Musk has sounded alarm bells. He previously referred to it as “summoning the demon” and recently called for greater regulation of the AI industry.

But what gives Musk more credibility is the fact that Musk’s company Tesla is so immersed in the world of AI. He’s part of the race to move toward autonomous AI-driven vehicles. That’s a point he alluded to when he also said, “I have access to the most cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned about it."

But in tech-fueled Silicon Valley, Musk for the most part stands alone in issuing such dire warnings.

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk /CGTN Photo

In fact, contemporaries like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg referred directly to Musk during a Facebook Live session when he said, "And I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios - I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible.”

Zuckerberg went on to say, “In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives."

Google has also been the target of Musk’s draconian barbs. Years ago, Musk said that he was kept up at night by the thought of Google’s founders building a fleet of artificial intelligence-enhanced robots capable of destroying mankind.

Algorithms that learned different images is able to detect strokes as well as an expert radiologist. /CGTN Photo

It's no surprise that Google’s head of AI, John Giannandrea, said at a TechCrunch Disrupt event that "Computers are incredibly powerful but they are also pretty dumb, and I think we need to work hard to make them fulfill the potential that they have and so that means teaching them to be smarter." To allay fears of AI replacing jobs, Giannandrea also emphasized that "Technology should augment the human intellect not replace it. It should be a powerful tool to help us think better, and I think that is really the journey we are on."

So with jobs, war, and industry revolution all at stake, it’s no wonder billions upon billions of dollars are being poured into AI. It’s widely accepted that the US and China are by far the leaders in Artificial Intelligence. But the general consensus among techies in the US is that the Chinese government has been far more active in supporting and investing in the AI industry than their US counterpart.

Some consider the dark side of AI is for it to replace humans' jobs. /CGTN Photo

One such critic has been Marc Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC’s Shark Tank.

Cuban recently said in an interview on RealVision TV that if the US falls behind it will be SOL - an acronym for a profane phrase that means being “completely” out of luck.

During a talk at the South by Southwest Conference in Texas, Cuban also praised AI for its potential to transform society and also make people rich.

"I am telling you,” said Cuban. “The world's first trillionaires are going to come from somebody who masters AI and all its derivatives and applies it in ways we never thought of.”

9537km