New CyberneticsNew Cybernetics

Influential scientists had a secret meeting in February that they are just now disclosing to the public and other colleagues. The topic – machines, artificial intelligence, outsmarting humans. So scientists are just now considering what sci fi novels and movies have been warning us about for years.

Their concern is that further advances could create profound social disruptions and even have dangerous consequences.

“As examples, the scientists pointed to a number of technologies as diverse as experimental medical systems that interact with patients to simulate empathy, and computer worms and viruses that defy extermination and could thus be said to have reached a “cockroach” stage of machine intelligence.”

Many scientists evoked The Singularity, a popular-held belief that the instant artificial intelligence gains even cockroach-level intelligence, their AI will grow exponentially and surpass us. We think in three dimensions, but machines working as a unit can ultimately think in 20 dimensions, doing calculations outside our realm of thinking.

My opinion on the subject matter is that AI is too much of a wild-card and shouldn’t be researched heavily. Cybernetics can directly help humans, but AI goes too far and doesn’t help enough except put us in potential danger.

“Despite his concerns, Dr. Horvitz said he was hopeful that artificial intelligence research would benefit humans, and perhaps even compensate for human failings. He recently demonstrated a voice-based system that he designed to ask patients about their symptoms and to respond with empathy. When a mother said her child was having diarrhea, the face on the screen said, “Oh no, sorry to hear that.”

Empathy and kind words, in my opinion, are not worth risking machines becoming autonomous and designing themselves into T-1000’s. My fear is scientists going through this just because they have the grant money – it looks like technology for technology sake and not for human sake.

Here is the NY Times article.