I was with few friends this evening, we had some great conversation. One train of thought went on to Artificial Intelligence and the betterment of our life.
I am not a pessimist but am also not a blind follower of the premise that AI is a magic bullet for solving all our miseries. I believe many of us will be marginalized, punished if we will opt-out. The algorithms will put us in a different bucket and treat us with an outsider bias. There will be no choice but to board on that herd with other civilians.
Capitalism being a double-edged sword widened the income disparity. I see similarly AI taking away most of our consciousness. I can’t imagine living a life where machines or algorithms are deciding what is good for me or punishing me for my mistakes.
Some people also say that AI will make us free, give us more time to think, pursue our creativity. I don’t buy that argument, we humans will find something else to keep us and our thoughts engaged.
I also feel there is a need for AI ethics, otherwise, many Cambridge Analytica likes scandals will surface and democracy will get in hands of few oligarchs.
Backers of AI swear by the utopia of meritocracy and bidding. When I am also the marketplace and a vendor, why and how will I not tweak the AI in my favor?
I also believe there is a need for universal basic income. Are less skilled humans a waste, of no use or deserve a life? Or we will throw them like street dogs to fight a civil war because most of our minuscule tasks have been taken care of via AI?
Some also think about increasing productivity and production line efficiency. As if hoarding and consumerism have not done enough mess to our planet that we need to produce more?
Then via capitalism, overburdening with a loan and offering mass discounts we will make the life of rest in more stress.
1984, is a dystopian novel by English novelist George Orwell. He talks about the mass surveillance society, are we not getting closer to it? Is AI not playing a bigger role in it?
Do we really liked to be watched continuously by the machine or cameras? How does it not put us in bracket of animals in some ZOO?