Every time I read one of Bill Gates' injunctions against AI, or Elon Musk's warnings against it, I don't feel afraid. After all, as one of my hyper-intelligent friends says, there will always be a physical way to stop robots or automatic cars or computers, be it an on/off switch or an e-brake. Just today, I read this great article outlining why we shouldn't really be afraid of AI: Irrational AI-nxiety by Edward Clint. I highly recommend it.
He draws parallels between humans selectively breeding desirable traits into our favorite animal, dogs. We breed loyalty and intelligence and compassion into our dogs. Since we are completely in charge of AI, he says, we can design it to be our loyal companion, just like dogs.
What are your thoughts? Do you fear AI, or do you believe we are masters of our own destiny?
Image from Pixabay.
