So what would take place if we ever did design computers that were more intelligent than us? Would human beings be rendered obsolete? Could humans and computers ever develop some sort of understanding? Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was one of the first people to propose safety precautions for AI with his "Three Laws of Robotics." The first law the computers must follow is that a robot may not injure a human being or let a human being get hurt through inaction. The second law is that robots have to comply with the orders given to it by humans, except when these orders would conflict with the first rule. And the third law is that a robot must protect its own existence as long as doing so doesn't conflict with the first or second law. Of course, things don't go down that smoothly in Asimov's fiction.
Some analysts take the depressing view that artificial intelligences will simply have goals that are inconsistent with human survival and goodwill, and that they will effectively destroy the human race. Others think that it is just impossible to tell - computers differ too much from humans. Humans are founded on evolution, therefore they give birth to children, and experience emotions like love, fear, and anger. Computers would have no need for any of these traits.
Other scientists still assert that even though the faster, more intelligent computers may make the human brain obsolete as far as the superior intellect, there will still be ecological space for humans. Still, the idea of not being at the top of the pecking order seems uncomfortable.
Some experts in the field are proposing that we put research into how to produce "friendly artificial intelligence" to address the dangers of, oh, being completely annihilated by a race of super computers. They feel as though if the first AI was programmed to be friendly with humans, it would design other, smarter computers to be friendly as well and this could prevent any harmful AI from developing. It might just be worth our while!
Actually, last year, many researchers, experts, and analysts met in California to discuss the hypothetical ramifications of self sufficient robots that might capable of making their own decisions. At this meeting, they spoke about how these computers and robots may be able to acquire autonomy, and to what degree they could use these abilities to pose threats. Again, military computers have the ability to choose targets to attack with weapons, and even something as simple as your every day computer virus can evade getting caught by us "smarter" humans. To be continued in the next article, "Criticisms of Technological Singularity And Exponential Growth.
About the Author:
Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Unique version for reprint here: What Would Happen If We Built Computers That Could Outsmart Us?.
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