Extra Blog Post: Artificial Intelligence

     Artificial Intelligence is fast evolving into the technology of the future. Intelligence is no longer reserved for humans through machine learning. So, are robots really going to take over one day? A YouTube Original show, The Age Of AI, attempts to answer the question. 

    Artificial Intelligence involves humans teaching the machine and the machine then becoming smart. These machines are not programmed, but rather they are able to recognize patterns and learn themselves after their creation. One experiment into AI is known as Baby X. Creator Mark Sagar modeled Baby X after his own daughter and believes that starting at the beginning of human life is the key to understanding AI.

   
Most AI models have neural networks, which are simpler models of the human brain. Baby X, however, has brain nodes, Though, these nodes have a fixable intelligence that humans are able to relate to. Baby X is able to recognize and learn the names of objects through object recognition software. Basically, object recognition software is how a computer sees. Though, to recognize something Baby X must sift through all the data she has to find an answer. Baby X even has affective computing which is AI that interprets and mimics human emotion. 

However, the question still remains, should we be afraid of AI? What are they really capable of. When I viewed the show and first laid eyes on Baby X, I felt a little uneasy. She is incredibly detailed and unrealistic. Humans don't like not understanding or knowing. We like to ask questions and get answers. A machine that we are not in control of seems unpredictable. Adding a human face to a machine adds an extra layer of reluctance. Do we want machines that look like us, think like us, and even emote like us?

    The documentary argues that we have nothing to be afraid of. The rapper will.i.am is dipping into the world of AI as well because he believes that we are already a marriage of our data and our identities. So, why not have a second version of himself? As a result, he is working to create an avatar in his likeness. The main purpose here is that AI mimics human beings. Meaning their capabilities begin and end in the person they are modeled after. If this is true then we have nothing to be afraid of. 

    Still, AI is doing much more than creating a semi-creepy baby. It is also allowing nursing home patients to feel less lonely by providing companionship. It is also creating innovations in prosthetic limb technology by allowing amputees to move all 5 fingers on their prosthetic hands using ultrasound technology. I hope AI continues to innovate in ways that support human life but not to replace it.

   
Image sources 

Baby X Image

AI Image