The Future Of Artificial Intelligence
Cyberdyne’s HAL suit claims it can give the wearer the power of 10 men. Image Source: Clipseum
A large portion of the AI currently being developed is being led by neuroscientists looking for ways to help injured people regain motor control. CyberDyne (a Japanese company that just happens to have the same name as Terminator‘s CyberDyne Systems) creates machines that can aid people in movement, but the military believes it can also be used to reinforce the bodies of soldiers and make them stronger. Just as Albert Einstein didn’t plan for his Theory of Relativity to be used to create the most devastating weapon the world had ever seen, technology that is being developed to help people may end up being used to hurt people.
The military is also looking into the technology developed by neuroscientists to create weapons such as unmanned tanks, memory-erasing tools, and brain fingerprinting that can read people’s minds. An then, of course, drones that can make their own decisions to kill. On that last point, at least, even military officials say we are far from ready for the technology.
“I think we’re years and years away, maybe decades away, from having confidence in an automated system that can make those types of decisions,” said Lt. Gen. Larry James.
The Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS), a robot that is capable of fighting on the front lines. Image Source: CNET
If Moore’s Law is correct and computer processing doubles every 18 months, Hawking’s fear that AI would quickly supersede human intelligence isn’t unfounded. Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, has predicted that AI will surpass human intelligence as early as 2045, which is further stoking fear in AI.
As for MonsterMind, the closest thing we currently know of to the apocalyptic AI technology seen this year in Terminator Genisys, only time will tell if it can cause a real life Judgment Day.
