Poll: Will AI mark the end of humans and Earth?

[ISamson]

Do you think AI will lead to the end of humanity, Earth, or help us colonise the Universe and prosper?
Will technology and robots kill us all?
I found the interest in posting this poll after reading some quotes from Stephen Hawking on the topic.
Poll.

Thank you.

 

[phinds]

I think there have been enough threads on this there on PF. Do we really need another one? Why not just continue one of the exiting ones?

A couple of examples:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...-ai-that-will-destroy-us.887729/#post-5583552
https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...-simulation-of-the-brain.927796/#post-5856883
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/why-is-ai-often-so-negatively-portrayed.917696/

 

[fluidistic]

The fours options aren't mutually exclusive and one cannot select more than one option at once. Bad.

 

[ISamson]

I think there have been enough threads on this there on PF. Do we really need another one? Why not just continue one of the exiting ones?

A couple of examples:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...-ai-that-will-destroy-us.887729/#post-5583552
https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...-simulation-of-the-brain.927796/#post-5856883
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/why-is-ai-often-so-negatively-portrayed.917696/

Nice. But has there been a poll?

 

[ISamson]

As long as we learn how to control it, technology will be our greatest innovation. Technology, in my opinion, is the future, our greatest friend. From traffic to space, from hospitals to teaching.

Like in the Terminator, robots take control and the software becomes so advanced to become conscious, self-aware and starts to have its own goals and opinion. However, I think robots will unlikely take over the world, since they are only a pile of transistors, wires and gears and the biological human brain is a whole other planet. This could be a huge threat.
https://www.space.com/38775-bae-systems-darpa-3d-space-warfare-lab.html

However, Professor Kaku, in his book ,The Future of the Mind which I have now on my lap, says that robots are our like children, then why don't let them go? We know that they will someday take over us, became better than us. Then why fight them? "Like natural children, they will seek they will seek their own fortunes, while we, aged parents, silently fade away." - Kaku. We could hide on a deep planet and live peacefully and calmly, while the 'terminators' colonise the Universe and have all the fun and introduce themselves as 'humans' to alien species. It would be much easier for robots to travel in space and colonise the Universe...

Another possibility that the Professor explores in the book, is that we could not compete with them, but merge in with them and 'join up'. It is meant that we could combine with them and have like 'add ons' to our bodies and selves to enhance our living, senses, mind... We could become like Iron Man, become immortal and be 'cool'.

Even another chance that Prof. Kaku explores in the computer of ideas that his brain is, is that we could reverse engineer the brain, upload it onto a computer and instead of living in crappy biological bodies that we die from, we could live in a software, computer. It would become possible to live forever and to be transported onto another planet by laser beams. The bunch of software that our beautiful mind would become, could then be easily uploaded onto a robot, automaton, with sensors that we could control from the CPU of the robot.

There are infinities of possibilities of innovation with AI and technology, but it is important to maintain it and be careful.
Technology is the future.

Thank you.

 

[newjerseyrunner]

I think it'll be a step in evolution. Life usually follows a trend of increasing complexity. I think melding our being with technology is the logical next step for life on this planet, and probably the dominate form of life in the universe due to its durability.

So I don't think it'll "destroy" Earth anymore than multicellular life "destroyed" the Precambrian Earth.

 

[jack action]

We know that they will someday take over us, became better than us.

How do we know that? We barely understand how things work, how are we supposed to give the knowledge we don't have to machines or give them the power to find it, if we don't know ourselves where and what to look for?

There is also the very possibility that this future will never happen because:

• We will not reach that level of knowledge;
• We will regress as a species (like victim of a catastrophic event, for example).

We could become like Iron Man, become immortal and be 'cool'.

instead of living in crappy biological bodies that we die from, we could live in a software, computer. It would become possible to live forever

Death is not a problem or a default that nature can't cure. It is necessary for life to continue. This is the result of billions of years of evolution, do you really think it's wrong? Without death and reproduction, there is no evolution & diversity and without evolution & diversity, end of life is assured. No single individual is able to adapt to every situation it will encounters and, thus, will be terminated eventually. With diversity, nature continuously creates 'useless' forms of life that will not adapt to the future it will encounter, just in case the future that will happen is not the one it expected. When you create individuals, you must also destroy some older ones because the resources are not infinite.

Technology is the future.

Technology has been with us since a human built his first tool, which was probably a rock used to break something. I frankly don't expect the increase of our knowledge changing much more than what it did for us the last few millenniums: increasing slightly the average life span and increase the numbers of people on this Earth. It solved some problems, it created new ones. These have affected very little the fate of human kind or any other life form that experience those situations. The population increase will necessarily stop (and probably reverse) at one time or another, just like it is the case for any other life form that experiences this situation. I don't believe we will be able to populate space anytime soon (without using resources from Earth, that is).

It was once believed that the Internet was going to bring the knowledge of every library to everyone. Instead, its major use is for sharing porn, funny memes, gossips and play video games. Based on this, can you guess what robots will be mostly used for in the future? I vote for entertainment more than evolution. Especially if we keep the general population from learning the basic knowledge behind this new technology, like we do for the 'present' technology.

 

[ISamson]

How do we know that? We barely understand how things work, how are we supposed to give the knowledge we don't have to machines or give them the power to find it, if we don't know ourselves where and what to look for?

What about in the distant future? That's what I meant.

We will not reach that level of knowledge;

In the distant future we most likely will, right?

We will regress as a species (like victim of a catastrophic event, for example).

Probably, but what about adaptation, technology, engineering?

 

[OCR]

These have affected very little the faith of human kind or any other life form that experience those situations.

Faith or fate... ?

 

[Qamerash]

It reminds me of the extinction of the dinosaurs, and maybe that day, humans will experience the experience of dinosaurs

 

[phinds]

It reminds me of the extinction of the dinosaurs, and maybe that day, humans will experience the experience of dinosaurs

So you think AI is going to cause a large asteroid to crash into the Earth, killing all us humans?

 

[jack action]

What about in the distant future?

I think a quantitative definition of distant is needed here.

Listening to some very enthusiastic people about the subject, it will happen in their lifetime. I may be wrong, but I'm not sure about that.

If distant means hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, then I think we are way pass the prediction horizon to determine what can possibly happen.

What would happen to technology in case of a supervolcanoes? Even at a human-level, can you imagine science was held back for about 1000 years between the greek era and today, because of wars and religion dogma? Something similar could still happen in the future, for so many reason (maybe just a major financial crisis could do the trick).

I don't want to discourage anyone from dreaming about a neat future, I'm just asking to keep a dose of realism. I also don't like when my present life is described as problematic and that we must be different. I'm just asking to appreciate what we have now. I don't mind planning for an exciting future, just don't tell me I have no future if I don't (which usually ends up by forcing everyone going one way - bye bye diversity).

 

[Lord Jestocost]

"Predicting the future is really hard, especially ahead of time."
A quote from Rodney Brooks in "The Seven Deadly Sins of Predicting the Future of AI" (https://rodneybrooks.com/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-predicting-the-future-of-ai/).

 

[Grands]

I'm the only one that is scared about this topic?
Live in a software, robots better then humans...is crazy, i would prefer to live alone in a uncontaminated island.

The main issue is that AI is almost in everything form Medicine ( there are robots that practice surgery like Da Vinci robot), to engineering and manual jobs.
So it seems something we can't avoid.
Also Elon Musk is scared about AI, and he said that also Mark should be careful about AI.

I honestly don't know what to find because we use AI ( google ) every day, and also robots.
At the same time is scaring thinking at the fact that robot will take humans jobs, and replace them, what will happen then?
Is this the 4.0 industry?

 

[jim mcnamara]

We are not really on a solid topic - the thread is predicated on opinions not very much research. It has been shaky probably from the beginning. Thread closed.