Hopeful AI
We hear a lot about AI systems mimicing human skills. Sometimes as an existential threat, or as a plaything, or just as a passing fad. All three perspectives can be true at the same time.
More hopefully, AI is a bulwark against encroaching complexity. A few years ago (2014) I wrote this article for Scientific American on the ways AI could protect people from invasions of privacy by acting as a trusted intermediary:
And yesterday posted a quick New Year’s Eve article predicting AI will help manage the onslaught of news and information by evolving our relationship with social media away from passive consumption towards active hunting and gathering-
Of course, garbage-in-garbage-out. AI is no better (and often worse) than its training sets and reflects, even amplifies, the biases of its underlying structure and algorithms. But studies demonstrate AI is superior to human intuition on many skills- particularly when the rules are known and the training data is precise. For example, in games like chess or go. About par for reading x-rays or diagnosing disease, where even experts disagree on the methodology. And their social decision are eerily familiar, e.g. when AI recapitulates human foibles on soft, squooshy skills like making bail recommendations. More remarkably, a growing percentage of the public are willing to cede governing to “apolitical” AI agents rather than suffer from the inequities of human politics….
Farther back in 1994 I wrote a satire (see backstory) on the coming robot apocalypse for WIRED-
There is little doubt AI and robots will replace human beings on repetitive jobs like farming, warehousing, claims adjusting and even routine programming. Humans are pattern seekers, and AI excels at sorting patterns from the noise. What passes for inventiveness is often unexpected pattern recognition- for example, AI systems are proving to be expert designers creating patentable innovations every bit as imaginative as those of famous inventors. Sometimes even more creative, as the AI can leap over accepted norms and knowledge, disrupting assumptions and uncovering novel approaches to intractable problems.
I enjoy building “stuff”, and long ago recognized you are only as good as your tools. Well, that’s not entirely true. The best chefs can turn out an extraordinary meal with a beaten frying pan and a candle for heat. But for most of us, a sharper tool cuts a cleaner line, and turns a talented amateur into a competent professional.
AI is a tool. Make sure to invest in quality.
