Is Artificial Intelligence
on a
Dangerous?
R.L. Adams , CONTRIBUTOR
Image Credit: Shutterstock | Tatiana Shepeleva
Compelled by a nascent desire for innovation and
advancement, mankind's quest for technological
prowess is rooted in its earliest days. In fact, we have
always been tinkerers. Through the use of an abundant
imagination and burning desire to bend the limitations
of what was once deemed impossible, we have tested
the boundaries of the abstract with new technologies,
blazing a trail towards their reality.
Over and over again, the human imagination has given
birth to former science-fiction fantasies. From pocket
computers, to self-driving cars, space tourism, virtual
reality, and now, artificial intelligence, we have blurred
the lines of both fantasy and fiction through wild-eyed
innovators that have focused wholeheartedly on their
dreams, ultimately bringing them to fruition.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI), which was once
thought to live purely in the realm of the human
imagination, is a very real and looming prospect. In a
case of life imitating art, we're faced with the question
of whether artificial intelligence is dangerous and if its
benefits far outweigh its potential for very serious
consequences to all of humanity. It's no longer a
question of if, but when.
Not many would disagree with the fact that we're 
direct trajectory towards a future laden with AI.
Machine super-intelligence is most certainly upon us,
but what does the future hold for earth's inhabitants?
What happens if AI's human wranglers aren't able to
contain the machines? Will we have a real
life SkyNet operating on the same fundamental
principles that drive organisms towards survival of the
fittest?
In a now-very-ominous film called The Matrix, the
Wachowskis portrayed a fantastical future where
humans provided the source of energy for the
machines. In the film, the real world as experienced by
those who were living in this fantasy was all just a
product of a machine algorithm, when in fact the
actual reality was a creepy fluid-filled coffin keeping
the lights on, so to speak.
The machines had taken over in The
Matrix. In the Terminator series, we saw a similar
demise spelled out for humanity. Not only had
machines taken over, but they traveled back in time
with the intention of wiping out those who posed an
existential threat to their existence. While all this
sounds very bleak and outlandish, who's to say that
we're not actually spelling out our own demise with AI?
How dangerous is AI really?
Look at any newsfeed today, and you'll undoubtedly
see some mention of AI. Deep machine learning is
becoming the norm. Couple that with Moore's Law
and the age of quantum computers that's
undoubtedly upon us and it's clear that AI is right
around the corner. But how dangerous is AI really?
When it comes down to it, how can a connected
network operating within the confines of laws that
govern other organisms' survival actually be stopped?
While the birth of AI is surely a utilitarian quest in that
our natural tendencies are to improve upon prior
iterations of life through the advancement of
technology, and that AI will clearly pave the way for a
heightened speed of progress, is it also spelling out the
end of all humanity? Is our species' hubris in crafting
AI systems ultimately going be to blamed for
its downfall when it occurs?
If all of this sounds like a doom-and-gloom scenario, it
likely is. What's to stop AI when it's unleashed? Even if
AI is confined to a set of rules, true autonomy can be
likened to free will, one in which man or machine get
to determine what is right or wrong. And what's to stop
AI that lands in the hands of bad actors or secretive
government regimes hell bent on doing harm to its
enemies or the world?
When AI is unleashed, there is nothing that can stop it.
No amount of human wrangling can bring in a fully-
activated and far-reaching network composed of
millions of computers acting with the level of
consciousness that's akin to humans. An emotional,
reactive machine aware of its own existence could lash
out if it were threatened. And if it were truly
autonomous, it could improve upon its design,
engineer stealthy weapons, infiltrate impenetrable
systems, and act in accordance to its own survival.
Throughout the ages, we've seen the survival of the
fittest. It's mother nature's tool, her chisel if you well,
sharpening and crafting after each failure, honing the
necessities, discarding the filaments, all towards the
end of increasing the efficiency of the organic machine.
Today, humans are the only species on the planet
capable of consciously bending the will of nature and
largely impacting the demise of plants,
animals, environments, and even other people. But
what happens when that changes? When a super-
intelligent machine's existence is threatened, how will
it actually react? Aside from the spiritual issues that
revolve around the "self," how can we confidently
march forward knowing all too well we might be
opening up Pandora's Box ?
AI's Deponents
In a poignant interview given in 2014, Elon Musk likened
AI to "summoning the demon." Stephen
Hawking warned that it might "spell the end of the human
race." While droves of hardware and software engineers are
helping to lead the charge towards a future laced with AI
systems with names like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri, more
advanced systems are being developed out of the public's
prying eyes.
In a very telling story of what the future holds,
we saw Google's GOOGL +0.84% recently-acquired
London-based DeepMind AI project take on the
human Go champion, Lee Sedol, and win in a series total
of 4-1 after having completely annihilated the European
Go champion, Fan Hui, in a series of 5-0, which, by the
way, made history as the first ever time a computer was able
to win against a professional Go player. 
Other notable individuals have also come out against
AI. Bill Gates recently stated, "I agree with Elon Musk and
some others on this and don’t understand why some people
are not concerned.” So why aren't more people concerned?
Surely, if left unchecked, AI will pose an existential threat to
the entire human race. 
As a result of some of the leading minds of our time
voraciously championing a stern and heeded warning
towards the potential perils of AI, small groups are
taking action towards limiting its likelihood for
complete and total disaster. In an attempt to create a
stop gap or a fail safe, consortiums, non-profits, and
others devoted to this very cause are seeing a rise in
proliferation.
Even more so, leaders like Musk, a billionaire
entrepreneur, renowned futurist and self-taught rocket
engineer, aren't leaving things to chance. In January of
2015, Musk hedged his bets against AI, devoting $10
million dollars towards 37 separate research
projects worldwide through his Future of Life Institute,
towards projects that could better create warnings and
alarms before a harmful AI was unleashed on society. 
Musk has championed this effort, because while
society has largely been kept in the dark on what AI is
really capable of today, Musk has been privy to some of
the recent technological advancements due to his
close-knit relationships with people like Google's Larry
Page and Sergey Brin, and even the DeepMind efforts
that are going on behind closed doors.
In another interview during Vanity Fair's New
Establishment Summit, Musk voiced other opinions
about AI, saying that "most people don't understand
how quickly machine intelligence is advancing. It's
much faster than almost anyone realizes, even within
Silicon Valley, and certainly outside Silicon Valley,
people really have no idea."

In a riveting discussion between arguably two of the

world's  most intelligent people, Neil Degrasse Tyson and
Ray Kurzweil, some important points were made on
the future of technology. Ray Kurzweil, a computer
engineer, celebrated author, and known futurist points
out that by "2029 computers would have all of the
intellectual and emotional capabilities of humans."

Kurzweil also points out that, on an evolutionary scale,

our future will likely involve the brain being
systematically synced to the cloud through the use of
nano-bots the size of red-blood cells. He coins this the
"neocortical cloud." So, if this were the case, what
would happen when AI runs rampant and its able to
impose its will on humans that have been injected with
these nano-bots? Would the utilitarian nature of what
we're after ultimately spell out our untimely doom?

What Does the Future Hold for AI? 

No matter how dangerous AI might be for humanity,

it's clear that there's no slowing down the pace of
progress. Regardless of how many deponents come out
against AI, there's simply no way to stop its
advancement. Future discussions will likely help lead
the charge in directing AI for good rather than bad, but
no matter what happens, there's certainly no stopping
the wheels of progress as they slowly grind forward.

R.L. Adams is a software engineer, serial entrepreneur,

and author. He runs a wildly-popular blog
called Wanderlust Worker and contributes to Entrepreneur,
Engadget and the Huffington Post.

1. What are the benefits and drawbacks of AI?

2. Is it possible that AI-based tech can be used to snoop on
citizens?
3. Do you believe a Terminator-like scenario may be likely
to happen due to the possibility that machines with AI
develop consciousness of their own and take over the
planet? Why? why not?