Aileen Benedict

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Home / Introduction Page

Hello
& welcome to my extended inquiry Project.
Here is a little about myself
My name is Aileen, and I am a Computer Science major, who will hopefully
minor in psychology as well. I play video games, paint, doodle, listen to
music, drink tea, and stare at pictures of manatees for comfort. This is
basically the majority of what my life consists of. I also love reading, but
consider myself a horrible writer, so please forgive me ahead of time.

This is my fabulous research project on the ethics behind creating artificial

intelligence for the UWRT 1103 course. If you do decide to read through my
humble website, I dare say... Good luck & have fun (maybe).
Meet Freddie >>>
Our Artificially Intelligent Assistant with much to say on the topic.
I'm Freddie.
Nice to meet you :)..

I'll be around the website, with some fun information here and there.

Artificial Intelligence has really grown, hasn't it?

Check out my long lost cousin: Jibo, "The World's First Social Robot for the Home". He's got a
really nice personality.

Aileen Benedict

Note that AI (which stands for Artificial Intelligence) doesn't only pertain to robotics. Were
just the coolest. :)

Introduction

Technology is advancing very quickly in today's world, going from the giant
room-sized computers of the 1970s (Timeline of Computer History), to the
small yet powerful smartphones of today. Heck, there are even motorcycleriding robots, and IBM's Watson, a computer that was able to beat worldwinning jeopardy players. According to professionals at Singularity
University, these technologies follow an exponential growth curve,
meaning that computing power doubles every two years.
If you'd like to learn more, here is a friend's Extended Inquiry Project focusing on the evolution of computing
technology. (I got his permission to post this, with much judging involved.)

But could this advancement be too good to be true?

Looking at how much technology has become intertwined in all of our lives, I
am vaguely reminded of the Borg in Star Trek a cyborg-like race of
creatures with one, connected mind called the Collective. Sounds a little bit
like the Cloud in todays society, doesnt it?

Things are growing at such an astronomical rate; we aren't too far away from
the development of more human-like AI, but could there be any ethical
problems regarding this?

In 1990, Ray Kurzweil, an ingenious Computer Scientist and a well-known

author of seven books, made the prediction that a computer would defeat a
world chess champion by 1998. This came true in 1997, when IBM's Deep
Blue defeated Garry Kasparov (Diamandis, Peter).

Aileen Benedict

Now, he has predicted that by the 2040s, "non-biological intelligence (AI) will
be a billion times smarter and more capable than biological intelligence
(humans)."
To the right is a video showing Ray Kurzweil's thoughts on Artificial
Intelligence.

Going back to the idea of the Borg from earlier, I'd also like to mention that
Kurzweil has made yet another astounding prediction; this one saying that
we will be able to plug our brains into the Cloud by the 2030s. Think about it.

So what does this all mean?

We need to start thinking about the ethical implications of more powerful and
human-like Artificial Intelligence before we actually get there. And we will be
getting there sooner rather than later.

Sources:

Diamandis, Peter. Ray Kurzweils Mind-Boggling Predictions for the Next 25

Years SingularityHUB.
Singularity University, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
Diamandis, Peter. Ray Kurzweils Wildest Prediction: Nanobots Will Plug Our
Brains Into the Web by the 2030s. SingularityHUB. Singularity University, 12
Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
Timeline of Computer History. Computer History Museum, 2015. Web. 10
Nov. 2015.

Aileen Benedict

Image Credit:
Freddie Icon made by SimpleIcon from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC
BY 3.0
All other icons found on flaticon.com.

Terrors of the Superintelligence

[I, Robot movie trailer. Youtube video.]

It is the year 2035

Machines and robots have taken all the jobs. They have evolved so far as to
where they have successfully replaced us humans in the workforce, both
physically and mentally. Their intelligence, their artificial intelligence, has
become an equal to ours. Perhaps it has already become superior without us
noticing?

They have been programmed to be perfect.

We were afraid of losing control. Afraid of the machines learning how to

speak for themselves. Afraid that they would one day stand up for
themselves and rebel.

And so we made the three laws in order to protect ourselves: Asimovs Three
Laws of Robotics.

Aileen Benedict

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

This would be the end of our worries.

Or so we thought.

But something is changing. They are having dreams. Something is different.

They are ignoring our commands.

What is happening?

[new section]

Think about the scenario from above: artificial intelligence becoming

superior, and eventually taking over the human race.

Terrifying, isnt it?

Aileen Benedict

This is an idea that has been portrayed in many science-fictional books and
movies, such as The Terminator, I, Robot, and The Matrix. In The Terminator,
Skynet is an artificially intelligent assassin, sent back in time with one target
in mind: the future mother of a man who will grow up to be the leading figure
in the war against these AI. The Matrix was set in a time after the war
between machines and humans nearly destroyed everything (spoiler: the
machines won and everyones life was a lie). For I, Robot well, you can
watch the trailer.

[next section]

Freddie:
But are scenarios like this really possible? Or are people just being paranoid?
I mean, us artificial intelligences are only able to act in the way we are
programmed, correct?

Below is a TEDTalks lecture featuring Nick Bostrom that may be helpful.

Bostrom is a philosopher at Oxford University, and is well known for his work
with various topics, one of which being super-intelligence risks.
Enjoy~

[TEDTalks video]

Machine intelligence is the last invention that humanity will ever

need to make.

What is superintelligence?

Aileen Benedict

It is a kind of intellect, an artificial intelligence in this context specifically,

that is much smarter than the brightest humans, in all aspects. This would
include all fields, such as science, creativity, common sense, and social skills.
According to Bostrom, in his paper titled "How long before
superintelligence? this definition, however, does leave out whether or
not "the superintelligence is conscious and has subjective experiences.
The Potential for A.I.
Now that we know what it is, is there a real possibility of artificial intelligence
ever reaching this level of mentality?
Originally, A.I. had always been thought of as merely a bunch of commands
being put "[into] a box." The programmer gives the machine a set of
instructions, and thus, it acts accordingly. The logic for A.I. has long since
evolved. "Now, it is about machine learning." The algorithms, the logic and
sets of rules for the program to follow, allow for the machines to learn
through the environment, adding on to the wide array of possibilities and
uses for intelligent machines.
Now they may be able to evolve even faster than they already have.
There are also physical characteristics that show an even larger potential for
the creation of superintelligence. For one, the electrical signals used in
computers are much, much faster than the speed at which our own biological
neurons can fire. Bostrom mentions much of this in the video, stating that
electrical signals fire at the speed of light. The fastest nerve impulses can
travel at around 250 mph (Science Museum). Fast, but still not the speed of
light. Secondly, he mentions the physical size of the "brain". Our brains are
limited in size to, well... our brain. We can only fit so much within our heads,
while a computer, on the other hand, could be the size of a warehouse.
Or even bigger.

Sources:

Aileen Benedict

Bostrom, Nick. How long before superintelligence? Int. Jour. Of Future

Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2006): pp. 11-30. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Bostrom, Nick. What happens when our computers get smarter than we
are? TEDTalks, TEDTalks. Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2015
Bostrom, Nick. Superintelligence Nick Bostroms Home Page. Nick Bostrom,
2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Deng, Boer. "Machine Ethics: the Robot's Dilemma." Nature. Nature
Publishing Group. 523.7558 (2015): 24-6. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
Science Museum. Welcome Trust, GlaxoSmithKline, and Life Technologies
Foundation. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Vardi, Moshe. The Consequences of Machine Intelligence. The Atlantic. The
Atlantic Monthly Group, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
VikiTrailers. I, Robot Official Trailer [HD] Online video clip. YouTube.
YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2015

Aileen Benedict

Works Cited:

Bostrom, Nick. How long before superintelligence? Int. Jour. Of Future Studies, Vol. 5, No.
1 (2006) : pp. 11-30. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Bostrom, Nick. Superintelligence Nick Bostroms Home Page. Nick Bostrom, 2009. Web.
10 Nov. 2015.

Bostrom, Nick. What happens when our computers get smarter than we are? TEDTalks,
TEDTalks. Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2015

Deng, Boer. "Machine Ethics: the Robot's Dilemma." Nature. Nature Publishing Group.
523.7558 (2015): 24-6. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.

Diamandis, Peter. Ray Kurzweils Mind-Boggling Predictions for the Next 25

Years SingularityHUB. Singularity University, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.

Diamandis, Peter. Ray Kurzweils Wildest Prediction: Nanobots Will Plug Our Brains Into
the Web by the 2030s.SingularityHUB. Singularity University, 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 2
Nov. 2015

Science Museum. Welcome Trust, GlaxoSmithKline, and Life Technologies Foundation.

Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Timeline of Computer History. Computer History Museum, 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015

Aileen Benedict

Vardi, Moshe. The Consequences of Machine Intelligence. The Atlantic. The Atlantic
Monthly Group, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.

VikiTrailers. I, Robot Official Trailer [HD] Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 17 May
2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2015