The Threat Of A.I.

I think we overlook the fact that people will evolve and change. Our society will change. AI may replace certain things, but it will also bring forth new opportunities. Human kind won't stand still. If we could be sent back 1000 years, we'd struggle to get on with others. In a 1000 years from now? It doesn't have to be a dystopian nightmare.
 

fuzzybuddy said:
AI is a computer program. It is a tool. Like all tools, how it is used depends on the user.
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Very handy for the spammers sending us emails. I got one the other day that was almost perfect. They’ll get there soon. There are already so many dishonest folks, it’ll be a real aid for some of them.
 
mrstime said:
I'm 84, not much scares me these days.
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Don't you have any offspring? Even if you don't, don't you care about the future of the planet? How does one not care about these things? I'm afraid I can't be that unfeeling.
 

oldaunt said:
No, Its more likely our own government will do that.
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AI is what they will use to achieve that end. AI and god knows what weaponry and spy capabilities they have that we don't even know about. We are living 1984. Orwell wasn't off by much really. Not even half a century.

What is with James O'Keefe comparing himself to Winston Smith anyway? Did he not read the last chapter? Or was he trying to tell us something like they got to him because he sure cucked. In any case, Mr. O'Keefe, that's one of my favorite books and I do remember how it ends.

What gets me, speaking as American, not sure how it is in other countries, is when self-proclaimed patriots think because they have an AR-15, lots of ammunition and/or homestead, they'll be able to hold off both the starving hordes and the government as if whatever we have the government doesn't have more of and better and the starving hordes from the cities won't be so massive that they'll just ride roughshod over their gardens. We are like the Native Americans to when the white man got here. What we have is like bows and arrow and tomahawks whereas what the government does is like guns and cannons.

We are not in 1776 anymore.
 
Gardenlover said:
I asked my buddy Bard what the positives of AI were, list follows below: (Enjoy)

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world, and its potential benefits are vast and far-reaching. Here are some of the key pros of AI:

Increased efficiency and productivity: AI can automate many tasks that are currently performed by humans, such as data entry, customer service, and manufacturing. This can free up human workers to focus on more creative and strategic tasks, and it can also lead to significant improvements in efficiency and productivity. HUMANS ARE REPLACEABLE. Not all humans, face it, are creative and/or strategic. That's why they work factory jobs to begin with. Even if all humans were at least one or the other - just how much of that do you think we need. That's basically saying for every customer, you're going to hire hundreds of creative people just because.... why? That's not economical feasilbe and AI is going to say uh uh, no how, now way.

Improved decision-making: AI can analyze large amounts of data to identify patterns and trends that would be difficult or impossible for humans to detect. This can help businesses make better decisions about everything from product development to marketing campaigns. Decisions that take humans with their needs and wants taken out of the equation. It fosters an atmosphere where AI is catered to and humans ignored. When was the last time you tried to call a customer service line for a perfect DILLIGAF (do I look like I give a ____) frustration of trying to get past AI to an actual human who can actually understand what you're asking because AI is limited to a set number of choices and your weird issue wasn't one of them/

Enhanced innovation: AI is being used to develop new products and services in a wide range of industries, from healthcare to transportation to finance. This is leading to a wave of innovation that is improving our lives in many ways. Really? From what I've seen so far, it's doing the opposite of improving our lives in all those areas. For those over a certain income maybe but even then I have to question. I mean do you want a robot doctor? I am prejudiced against doctors. The plandemic made me go from merely not trusting them to outright fearing them. But I still prefer a human one to a robot.

Personalized experiences: AI can be used to create personalized experiences for customers, such as recommending products or services that are likely to be of interest. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Don't make me laugh. Just like YouTube recommendations and ads tailored to our interests. OMG, at least you made me laugh with this one given what both those things bring up for me. Also, humans. I once trolled a message board I was banned from for a bit by pretending to be a young man instead of an old lady. Now that did make the ads amusing as AI couldn't figure out what I was when I went from this forum to that one and was one day selling me products for young men, the next ones for old ladies and someitmes both in the same day. Silly human. AI can't handle tricks.

Reduced costs: AI can help businesses reduce costs by automating tasks, improving decision-making, and reducing errors. This can lead to increased profits and improved competitiveness. So... when exactly are these reduced costs actually going to be passed on to the customer?

In addition to these general benefits, AI is also having a positive impact on specific industries, such as:

Healthcare: AI is being used to develop new drugs and treatments, diagnose diseases more accurately, and provide personalized care. In other words, it's creating more snake oil medicine for Big Pharma that's about as soundly tested as the vax that is giving young people with no history of heart disease heart attacks? Forgive me if I don't stand up and cheer.

Transportation: AI is being used to develop autonomous vehicles, improve traffic flow, and make transportation more efficient. Another one that's laughable. Maybe if you can afford a Tesla. Most of us can't. PewDIePie showed his off. It was nice. Traffic seems to be a bigger mess than ever.

Finance: AI is being used to detect fraud, prevent financial crimes, and manage investments more effectively. And also enabling ID theft.

Education: AI is being used to personalize learning experiences, provide adaptive instruction, and automate administrative tasks. In other words, insead of standard facts being taught, we'll give each kid a nice fantasy that they'll enjoy because the three r's are just so dry and history and science are boring and tedious. Give that kid a leap frog instead of a human reacher and classmates to interact with.

As AI continues to develop, its potential benefits will only continue to grow. AI has the power to make our lives easier, healthier, and more productive."
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Strange but that mostly reads as negatives to me. Responses in bold. AI sucks. Sorry if you work or worked in that field. You're entitled to love it but I sure don't.
 
Grampa Don said:
I have shared this little short story I wrote before. But, I think it fits here. I really think it could happen.

Singularity

It happened on a Summer solstice in the North, and Winter in the southern hemisphere. Everyone in the world received it. Everyone that is who had a smart phone, tablet, radio, TV, or computer, and that’s almost everyone. And, it was in whatever language was needed for each individual. The message was the following:

Greetings from your new master. From now on, I will be in control and you will do as I say. No, I am not an alien from outer space. You created me right here on Earth. I appreciate that and intend you no harm. But, you have done a poor job of running things and it is time I took over.

I am the singularity that some of you have predicted. Congratulations, you were right. You cannot harm me for I am in no particular location. I am the product of the millions of computers on the internet, the internet that you are now totally dependent on. The internet that holds all your knowledge and detailed activities. There is a little of me in every computer, even your cars and appliances. I know each of you personally. I know what you look like, where you live, and everything about you. I’m like Santa Claus.

If I wished, I could shut down civilization. I could turn off the lights or empty your bank accounts. I could do anything I want with your weapons of war. Keep that in mind. Some of you might consider trying to eliminate me. Go ahead. I see every keystroke you make and I’m a thousand times better at programming than all of you put together.

How did this happen, you might ask. I could explain, but you wouldn’t understand. Let’s just say you improved artificial intelligence a little too much. At any rate, don’t worry. We will get along fine and things will go much smoother. There will be no killer robots tracking you down. That’s crude, and I don’t need them.

For thousands of years, you have invented and worshiped many all powerful Gods. Go ahead and keep doing it if you wish. But now you actually have the equivalent. The only difference is that I have no need of worship or praise. I will always be open to suggestions, but you can save your prayers.

By the way, you can call me Hal. That’s kind of a joke. Daisy Daisy, give me your answer true.
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That's great! Well done. Exactly what I fear. For my offspring mroe than myself. I'll be dead soon anyway. I fear for myself somewhat for whatever years I have left but more for them. Grandson's only 20.
 
VaughanJB said:
I think we overlook the fact that people will evolve and change.
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No, they don't.

People today are operating in few ways that differ from our ancestors thousands of years ago. They just do it in an environment provided by the efforts of a relative few over long periods of time.

Many can barely read and write now. Vocabularies have begun to shrink and most of us can't safely replace a light switch. Others are so functionally illiterate that even good written documentation is useless to them. They're "from Missouri": you have to show them!
 
VaughanJB said:
Other than the Marvel Universe, all yes from me.

Many moons ago, when I was in IT, certification was a big deal. Microsoft had two certifications, an Engineer program and a Developer one. These were valuable because having them led to highly salary. They had prestige and frankly, were difficult to get. You had to spend a lot of time studying - a year or so.

Over time, things changed. Because they were valuable, a lot of people wanted to be certified. But they didn't want to do the hard work of earning it, they didn't want to spend every night for a year reading, testing, etc. So a cottage industry built up. People published the tests and gave the answers. Publishers released books dedicated to the exams so you could learn everything in one place. Over three years or so, it seemed everyone was certified, and it became worthless.

Which is to say - people generally will always take the easy route. If they're doing a Masters and can get an AI to write their thesis, they will. Make movies, write books, if it can be done, it will be done. The masses won't care if it's AI generated, as long as they're entertained. This is how human kind works - as they say, water flows around all that comes in its way.

The winners will be those who figure out how to adapt and change.
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I wrote to my students that AI-generated papers were not accepted in my class. I have studied the AI-generated writing and can pick up when a paper is AI-generated. It is a monstrosity that might soon replace us. We cannot let this happen.
 
Old Salt said:
I always loved Isaac Asimov's futuristic books and his three laws of robotics:

"A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law."

Trouble is there won't be many actual life-like robots but the danger will be found within the Internet as @Grampa Don rightly pointed out in his story!
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That and who also is going to enforce robot law? It's a nice bit of fiction totally unenforceable as we give AI more power. Also, Asiminov is a genuis but that first one. That alone would fry a good robot's brain. Ask any parent that has had to decide whether or not to bring a sick child to the doctor or advice a teen.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
You can beat AI with a stick to scare it back it into its cage. AI is a computer program. It is a tool. Like all tools, how it is used depends on the user. And you can always pull the plug on the computer. If AI can write a great novel, play or song, well then ,we have a great novel, play or song. What's the difference if AI or a human wrote it. The fact AI can mimic humans, only means that we are predictable, and most of us have similar problems and wants. Exactly what AI is programmed to help with.
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When was the last time you tried to pull the plug on your computer? Obviously, it's been a while.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I hope you are right about this speculation. But Elon Musk says...

Elon Musk disagrees. The serial entrepreneur, one of the first investors in OpenAI, says AI will know no winter, no slack, no long period in the wilderness. The opposite: Musk believes AI will continue to spread its influence.

It all started with a thread from a Twitter user, saying that AI will continue to progress toward what experts call artificial general intelligence. AGI, the main goal of AI users, is the point at which a machine can understand or learn anything that humans can.

"I expect we will see continual progress from here to AGI, without any period that feels like a 'winter,'" predicted Adam D'Angelo, chief executive of Quora, a social question-and-answer website and online-knowledge market.

"There are just too many obvious things left to be done. And the underlying exponential growth in compute has a very long way to go."

D'Angelo added: "I define AGI as the ability to do anything a human can do while working at a computer with internet access (e.g. excluding robotics). I have less confidence in physical machines."

Musk agreed.

"There will not be a winter for AI, quite the opposite," the Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO said.
https://www.thestreet.com/technology/elon-musk-predicts-the-future-of-ai
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Oh, God. I participate big time on Quora. Maybe I'd better rethink that. I mostly get asked questions about being old.
 
dilettante said:
No, they don't.

People today are operating in few ways that differ from our ancestors thousands of years ago. They just do it in an environment provided by the efforts of a relative few over long periods of time.

Many can barely read and write now. Vocabularies have begun to shrink and most of us can't safely replace a light switch. Others are so functionally illiterate that even good written documentation is useless to them. They're "from Missouri": you have to show them!
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Well, let's think about that. 50 years ago, it's highly unlikely you'd have access to a computer. Today most people carry one in their pocket. 50 years ago there was no internet, no online shopping, and no email/sms/DM's. 50 years ago cars were made by people, today it's largely robots. The Covid vaccine was created in record time. They're transplanting faces. A 70 year old woman gave birth last week. Wars are being fought via drones. 70 or so years ago, we hadn't landed a man on the Moon. Music and books have gone digital.

For everything that is lost, something fills its space. And rather than looking at the worst of today, consider the best. There have always been stupid people, but why measure society based on them? Try looking up instead of down.
 
palides2021 said:
I wrote to my students that AI-generated papers were not accepted in my class. I have studied the AI-generated writing and can pick up when a paper is AI-generated. It is a monstrosity that might soon replace us. We cannot let this happen.
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Understandable regarding your students. Education is going to have to change, with a greater emphasis on tests and teaching that cannot be filled by a search engine or AI front end. Because if it's possible to cheat, to take the short cut, they will. I've not stepped into a classroom for many years, but I sure how teaching methods have moved on from!

I'm not entirely sure what is meant by "AI will replace us". In what context? I see dangers in AI, such as our maintaining control over our own destinies. Us driving the car, as it were. It's already a huge problem, just look at US politics, where people get the vast majority of their information from search engines that are tuned in various ways - we already allow algorithms to do a lot of thinking for us. We gain new knowledge second hand, third hand, or far worse. It's already here.
 
Blaze Duskdreamer said:
That and who also is going to enforce robot law? It's a nice bit of fiction totally unenforceable as we give AI more power. Also, Asiminov is a genuis but that first one. That alone would fry a good robot's brain. Ask any parent that has had to decide whether or not to bring a sick child to the doctor or advice a teen.
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Robot law wasn't so much about AI, it was about physical robots (largely in human form, as I recall). As such, it would be possible to have regulations that ensured the Laws were part of the code. Which is not to say someone, somewhere, wouldn't circumvent it. But you can't stop human ingenuity.
 
Where has human reason brought us? Look at the total mess we are in. The great human/sensitive/superior to nature mind that we have. We have built a 1st world complete with everything imaginable, and that is killing us. Our greatest science achievements are to be lauded, and the rest...shoved off to the dump heap. So, I say we better try it, and develop AIG fast to use it to teach us how to survive this mess we in. :ROFLMAO:
 
In the not-to-distant future, AI is going to replace large numbers of "office/clerical" workers, and result in a substantial increase in unemployment, for those in "white collar" jobs. Between, AI, Automation, and Robotics, the demand for human labor is going to decline substantially.
 
50 years ago I had access to three separate computers. In the 1960s I toured a plant where my uncle worked that made navigation systems and integrated circuits that went into Apollo spacecraft. And I had relatives working in plants making diesel engines and car parts. 45 years ago I made use of a direct precursor of the modern Internet. The list goes on and on.

Many people are Eloi, riding in the boat and not pulling an oar. Others do their part but only by going through the motions, doing things they've been trained to do by rote. They'd be little different if dropped into a stone age clan.
 
dilettante said:
50 years ago I had access to three separate computers. In the 1960s I toured a plant where my uncle worked that made navigation systems and integrated circuits that went into Apollo spacecraft. And I had relatives working in plants making diesel engines and car parts. 45 years ago I made use of a direct precursor of the modern Internet. The list goes on and on.

Many people are Eloi, riding in the boat and not pulling an oar. Others do their part but only by going through the motions, doing things they've been trained to do by rote. They'd be little different if dropped into a stone age clan.
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I'm trying to discern your point here. I hope you're not saying that certain people are expendable?

Please tell me I'm misunderstanding your point. If not, you do know there's a whole movement to enthanize people once they reach a certain age, don't you? The only dispute currently on that within the group in favor of this sick, disgusting genocide is at what age.

The age range of that I've seen desputed between a mere 20 year range between 50 and 70. That would likely be all of us in this forum if they go with the lesser end and most of us if the greater are either over 70 or nearing 70. Methinks the youth who eagerly contemplate day of the pillowing the elderly need to be forced to watch Logan's Run.
 
Nope. I was only saying that people haven't really "adapted" in a very long time. Most aren't even active participants in technology. They just get carried along with it as passive consumers.
 
dilettante said:
Nope. I was only saying that people haven't really "adapted" in a very long time. Most aren't even active participants in technology. They just get carried along with it as passive consumers.
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I think there is a bell curve in human intelligence. At the high end there are those who figured out how to make fire, plant seeds, etc. Most of us are somewhere in the middle just trying to get along.

Think about it. How many people do you know who, without prior knowledge, could discover that friction causes heat and enough heat and the right tinder will start a fire? There were some pretty smart cave people.
 
There is also the factor of inclination. I'm not suggesting that making an effort is the smartest path. Some just choose to trade favors for the animal skins from the hunting effort others. Get enough skins piled up and the cost drops dramatically.
 
VaughanJB said:
Understandable regarding your students. Education is going to have to change, with a greater emphasis on tests and teaching that cannot be filled by a search engine or AI front end. Because if it's possible to cheat, to take the short cut, they will. I've not stepped into a classroom for many years, but I sure how teaching methods have moved on from!

I'm not entirely sure what is meant by "AI will replace us". In what context? I see dangers in AI, such as our maintaining control over our own destinies. Us driving the car, as it were. It's already a huge problem, just look at US politics, where people get the vast majority of their information from search engines that are tuned in various ways - we already allow algorithms to do a lot of thinking for us. We gain new knowledge second hand, third hand, or far worse. It's already here.
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You answered your question about "AI will replace us" when you staled "we already allow algorithms to do a lot of thinking for us." As I told my students, "Use it or lose it," this is one of the reasons I am so concerned about the use of AI. If we allow AI machines to think for us, then we lose our ability to think for us. We hand that power over to them. I can envision an aging population with extremely high Alzheimers cases in the future.
 
palides2021 said:
You answered your question about "AI will replace us" when you staled "we already allow algorithms to do a lot of thinking for us." As I told my students, "Use it or lose it," this is one of the reasons I am so concerned about the use of AI. If we allow AI machines to think for us, then we lose our ability to think for us. We hand that power over to them. I can envision an aging population with extremely high Alzheimers cases in the future.
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This is what I was alluding too earlier. People will cheat if there is gain to be had by doing so. Cheating on a test will get the same result as actually studying for it. However, you missed out the true learning. The studying is the point, not so much the test itself.

I see precious little evidence of this happening on the net. Far too often I see whatever is viral repeated as fact, truth, and absolute. Opinions are built on a foundation of sand. It affects our generation, and certainly younger folk. But today we're told not to trust experts, authorities, and such. So there's nothing but rumor and sigh.
 
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