I normally wouldn’t recommend someone else’s video because I like to promote my own content (what creator doesn’t?), but I came across a video today that I found both absolutely fascinating and terrifying at the same time (See the link at the end of the post)!
Artificial Intelligence is an amazing thing and from it’s birth to it’s current infantile first steps (which is where I really believe it is today), its learning and growing at exponential rates.Â
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Machines smarter than humans have been fantasized about since the time of ancient Greece where it can be found in Greek Mythology with the story of Talos. Talos was an animated bronze statue that was created by Hephaestus, or the God of Craftsmanship. Talos had intelligence and strength that far surpassed human capabilities and could be seen as the predecessor for the concept of robots or artificial beings. Â
Even in literature, one of the earliest mentions of artificial intelligence was in “Erewhon”, a novel written by Samuel Butler in 1872 and has a chapter in it titled “The Book of the Machines” in which it argues that machines might eventually become intelligent through a process of natural or artificial (Darwinian) evolution. Â
In modern times, the first mentions of the term “Artificial Intelligence” shows up in 1956 when the term is first used by John McCarthy at the Dartmouth Conference, which was the first academic conference on the subject. Â
Even though the term Artificial Intelligence wasn’t widely in use until the latter part of the 1950, controlling it and protecting humanity was already on the mind of Isaac Asimov in the 1940’s when he first wrote ‘Robot’ (a series of short stories and novels) and his incorporation of the “Three Laws” of robotics in his short story “Runaround” in 1942. These three laws:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First law.
3) A robot must protect it’s own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
These laws were created as a way of protecting and preserving human life above the well being of the robot at all costs and is the basis for all protection mechanisms of humans vs. artificial intelligence. Â
Although these three laws will protect mankind under most circumstances, there are still instances where there will be issues that these can confuse such as saving a child from drowning in a submerged car with multiple occupants and leaving the others to perish. These stories and more were widely explored in Asimov’s robot stories, exploring the complexities and unexpected consequences of such circumstances. Â
AI is a remarkable tool, but it is just that, a tool. It’s up to us humans to make sure it’s not made into something it’s not meant to be and that it remains benign and not wiping us out for our own good in the future!
