Machine Learning And The Rise Of Artificial Intelligence

MACHINE LEARNING AND THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Name: Institution: Date:   Max Tegmark, the President of the Future of Life Institute once said, ‘everything we love about civilization is a product of intelligence, so amplifying our human intelligence with artificial intelligence has the potential of helping civilization flourish like never before as long as we manage to keep the technology beneficial’ (The Guardian, 2017). Artificial intelligence has taken root in our society and though it is taking it is still in its infancy stages, it has shown the capacity to change human civilization on a level on an unprecedented scale. It is the most promising computing trend at the moment. It is powered by advancement in computing technology and heavy investment in the field. However, there are many naysayers on the place of artificial technology in the civilization of humanity while others are excited about the opportunities it brings along. The research will attempt to explicate how AI will revolutionize our future, especially in the labor industry. The positive elements covered in this article will to some extent dispel people's fears and concerns about artificial intelligence and possibly rally them to understand that AI is a friend rather than a foe. It will also attempt to explain why and how we must take charge and ensure that the technology will be used for good. Many people imagine that artificial intelligence is going to take away their jobs and sources of income. They perceive AI as a foe rather than a friend. Computer scientists insist that AI will just change the way we live and increase our productivity and it will not in any way be an enemy. The movie industry has inculcated unwarranted fears about the future of humans co-existing with robots and other intelligent agents. Movies like the Terminator seem to propagate the concept that intelligent agents can exterminate humans because they do not have the limiting factors of humans such as death etc. They make humans fear for their survival since they can be decimated or exterminated by intelligent beings. However, these grim pictures of the future are wrong and unwarranted. They are powered by myths and propagated by technophobic people who are pessimistic about a future of humans coexisting with AI. There are a few important lessons that can be learned from history to understand whether AI will change the future of humanity and whether it will peacefully coexist with humans. Long before the invention of the wheel, humans relied on human porters and animals to transport goods. When the wheel was invented, if the people perceived it as a threat and feared for the future of porters and animal transport because it affected these industries, then history would be different. The same applies to the invention of the car and its subsequent take over as the future of transport. Horse-drawn carriages were the dominant means of transport on land the car was a threat to the same. But if the world drooled on horses, then humanity would still be stuck in the 19th-century lifestyle because the car changed the future of humanity tremendously and had a ripple effect in many other industries. Thus, though AI may seem like a threat to some people, it is actually a very important piece of the puzzle for the future of humanity. It should be welcomed rather than shut out because it will be a defining moment in the future of humanity. Humans can coexist with intelligent machines and not in the far distant future the world will be unimaginable without artificial intelligence. We will be grateful for the advancement of technology that has powered AI to underpin our lives in many unimaginable ways. We will wonder how the world was when people had to drive themselves and many other futuristic possibilities that artificial intelligence has promised the world. Some people perceive it as a curse because they think that artificial intelligence will take away their jobs. It is true that some jobs will be replaced by robots and other intelligent agents but on the other hand, more jobs will be created by the same robotics and AI industry. The jobs which will be replaceable are the ‘unpleasant’ manual jobs. Holding on to these jobs will not make the world move forward but stagnant and it is time for humanity to opportunities that AI will create. Historically, humans have always been resistant to change especially in the technology sphere. For example, nearly a century ago most people worked in the farming sector. Nearly everyone depended on their farms or working in the farms to make a living. Majority of these people sustained the few people who were working in factories and other industries. When the invention of tractors and other machines on the farm, most people feared for their jobs and their source of income. They could not imagine of the future without them working on the farms which earlier generations in their families depended on. However, as time went by mechanized agriculture took root and today the world is fed by about 2% of the people who are still farmers. Despite the increase in population several folds and reduction of a number of farmers relative to population, the world is still meeting its food production capacities with fewer farmers relative to the world population. Most other people have come to work in other industries such as computing which employs more people than the agriculture sector. Thus, the fear for a future of the jobs we have known for decades should not be a problem since we do not have an idea of the jobs of the future. A farmer in the turn of the 20th century could not comprehend a job description of a ‘social media strategist, social media influencer, software engineer; etc. Thus, AI is not a curse if viewed through the lens of the past technological innovations that changed human civilization and we should be optimistic that the future will be positive rather than negative. Will there be a catastrophe if the low-tech are all replaced by AI? It is unlikely that there will be a catastrophe if all low-tech jobs are replaced by AI. Firstly, most low-tech jobs are riskier and they are a threat to the people who work in them. For example, ‘driving’ jobs might disappear as the driverless technology comes of age and is perfected which will mean fewer accidents and better efficiency of transport resources. Drivers are mostly affected in most grisly road accidents and therefore by replacing these jobs, it will be protecting the lives of the drivers. Thus, any low-tech job that is a candidate for replacement is going to lower the risk of injury or loss of life that is associated with doing the work. Secondly, we also do not have an idea of the jobs of the future how they will be. It is undeniable that most jobs might disappear but there will be more jobs that are created by these industries. Many startups and technological behemoth companies have injected billions of dollars into this field of computing in a bid to redefine the future powered by intelligent agents. Other companies such as Tesla have been investing in automating technology specifically robots to cut down on labor costs and though they did not successfully replace all humans on the factory floor, their production line is largely automated. Tesla was aiming for with speed, high capacity production line, and precision. Tesla and other companies integrating robots and artificially intelligent agents on its production lines are the precursors of our future working environment. Recently, (BBC, 2017) reported an event where human lawyers were competing against an intelligent robot lawyer. 100 lawyers from London’s ritziest firms went up against an AI program known as Case Crusher Alpha created by other lawyers turned computer programmers. According to (BBC, 2017) ‘Both the humans and the AI were given the basic facts of hundreds of PPI (payment protection insurance) mis-selling cases and asked to predict whether the Financial Ombudsman would allow a claim.’ The case cruncher was 86.6% accurate against the huma...