Artificial Intelligence-Do We Have A Plan?

[Thundercrack85]

I think the real issue that is rarely addressed is that there won't be one monolithic AI. Terminator for example, just had Skynet.

In reality, we'll have multiple individuals / teams / corporations / institutions making AI's.

So there may be some hope for our species. The AI's may end up disliking each other as much we do, and focus on each other instead of us.

 

[KevanG]

Ah don't worry, we robot individuals wont "rise up"

...





yet.

Kane, you know I've always appreciated your finely crafted gifs.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Unless we had some sort of miniaturized emp devices that wouldn't short themselves out after a single use then there wouldn't be much we could do. We've gotten too good at killing each other. Bullets won't do much against machines and would even be a terrible idea against germ filled drones, we don't really have a portable power source for the really powerful lasers that could take them down and if you go into an area full of radiation or whatever you'd be toast. Besides which you know we'd launch nukes at everything as soon as we realized we would lose so we'd screw ourselves over even more.

Presumably if we have technology advanced enough to create such things, we would have the technology to inflict damage against them as well.

For example, in the case of a robot, we would have powered armor. Logically if we can program these AI's, we could also reprogram them, fight fire with fire, etc.

 

[KevanG]

If we gave drones heavier armour and firepower today, what do we have to stop them if they came out en masse?

 

[Thundercrack85]

Who is building these drones?

 

[KevanG]

Let's assume it's the US and they've gotten under control of a rogue AI along with rearmament and fueling.

 

[Thundercrack85]

The scenario is too vague. Is there only one AI? Are there still piloted aircraft? What about defenses? What's stopping us from hacking these drones?

In fiction you often see this, one AI being tasked with taking care of well, everything (Colossus, Terminator, I, Robot, etc). I just don't see that happening in real life.

 

[KevanG]

I'm not 100% sure on how the military infrastructure works to narrow it down too much so I can't really go much further on that end.

Let's take what T3 did and try that. Where it already has a large amount of limited access to the military systems due to automating weapons and defense systems but has also breached security and has been able to slowly take over civilian systems as well without disrupting daily activities. We can assume for the exercise that the AI can make smaller versions to run various things when it isn't focusing on them, like encroaching on accessing all linked databases and utilities, but the smaller ones can contact the main AI for updates or assistance.

By having the smaller versions running inside various places it could have them take it over and produce a shut down command to simultaneously take down a large amount of services at once.

I'd assume this takes place in the future give or take a decade or two where automation is more in place than now for a wider variety of things as it is it would be more difficult to setup something like this unless it was actively being aided by humans.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well I suppose in such a scenario we would be effectively screwed, but it seems rather farfetched to me (and too perfect a scenario). To this day, we have failsafes on our nuclear arsenals. I can't imagine we would ever put one AI in charge of all our nuclear weapons with no oversight.

That's not to say AI's can't supersede humanity (that might be inevitable), I just don't see it being that cut and dry.

 

[KevanG]

If you consider that an AI would be far more intelligent than we would then it could acquire human agents fairly easily and resources such as money would be easy due to being able to manipulate the stock markets on a basis in which no human could compare, then it wouldn't even need to have total control. If it paid the right people to do certain tasks at the right time then you could have similar effects without having a need for total domination of dozens of smaller systems.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Still, I think other emerging technologies would even the playing field considerably. Cybernetics, genetic engineering, brain emulation, uploading minds...

I see humanity slowly phasing out of existence, rather than being wiped out by some monolithic AI.

 

[Tempest]

Dang, baby girl, when you aim, you aim for the moon, don't you?

Of course, Cavill was the first man to come to mind, but then I reminded there is another poster on the Hype who would challenge us both to ritual combat for his hand. I'd spare you that experience.

And I think you've got the movie functions of cats and dogs confused. Your cat would always be hanging around, but would be hiding most of the time and only run out to scare you during moments of critical suspense, and would distract the other cast members as the evil robot killer gets them from behind.

Well, of course I shoot for the moon! I am a dreamer, after all. I sometimes play the lottery, even.

And I am aware there is a rival for Henry's affections, and I'm not normally so bold to share my admiration, but we're talking potential end-of-the-world scenarios. All bets are off.

As for the cat situation, it's true that cats would normally be like that. However, my cat seems to think she is a dog, so she'd be fine in the role of faithful animal sidekick.

Unless the AI offered her kibbles.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Still, I think other emerging technologies would even the playing field considerably. Cybernetics, genetic engineering, brain emulation, uploading minds...

I see humanity slowly phasing out of existence, rather than being wiped out by some monolithic AI.

While a large segment of the population upgrade cybernetically there will be people who either resist the cyborg tech or can't afford it.

This creates a gap between the rich and skilled cyborgs and everyone else. Eventually there is a war and the underclass is terribly unequipped.

Once the war is over, the cyborgs win but at this point no one can tell if the cyborgs have power or an advanced AI behind the scenes.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well, it's all about time.

I see cybernetics actually as a crude alternative to genetic engineering, at least in the early years. You weren't created with perfect vision, so you have to use implanted cybernetic enhancements.

But once it takes off, holy hell.

Once you go far enough, a cyborg becomes a robot.

 

[KevanG]

There's theories that eventually we could upload our minds into a database when our bodies pass on. Then we'd be the AI! MWAHAHAHA!

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Well, it's all about time.

I see cybernetics actually as a crude alternative to genetic engineering, at least in the early years. You weren't created with perfect vision, so you have to use implanted cybernetic enhancements.

But once it takes off, holy hell.

Once you go far enough, a cyborg becomes a robot.

I think once cybernetics and genetic engineering become commercialized all bets are off.

You have rich kids with the best genetic engineering and social climbers going into debt buying cybernetic enhancements with desperate hopes of catching up.

This will create a toxic environment were the dehumanization of our species will become normalized.

Slowly full blown robots will be admired for their perfection over a flawed yet soulful human existence.

Our vanity will be our undoing. Pride before the fall.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

There's theories that eventually we could upload our minds into a database when our bodies pass on. Then we'd be the AI! MWAHAHAHA!

I'd never do this.

What if you went through the process only to realize it was a hellish existence.

You would be trapped in a cyber-space hell with no escape.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I wonder if robots will see it that way.

Though our society is already so damn stratified, and we already treat each other so horribly, I'm not sure I'm convinced that genetic engineering will make it all that worse. It will simply make it more noticeable, because all the rich people will now be good looking in addition to being rich.

What I like about the robots however is that they will probably kill us all, in an egalitarian fashion. Genetically engineered or not, what is a human to a superhumanly intelligent robot? A glorified chimp.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I am not sure in any fictional scenario/narrative that has come up that they really think the "AI rises up against it's creator" idea through all that well. Mostly it's been metaphor for something else in society or projecting all too human motivations onto something that in it's own way would most likely be as "alien" to us as any E.T. would be.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Remember, the robots at the end of Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence.

They were the most compassionate and understanding life forms in the entire movie.

I'd love to co-exist with machines like that. They would be better at being human than most people.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I am not sure in any fictional scenario/narrative that has come up that they really think the "AI rises up against it's creator" idea through all that well. Mostly it's been metaphor for something else in society or projecting all too human motivations onto something that in it's own way would most likely be as "alien" to us as any E.T. would be.

Yeah most people treat lower life forms like either pest or food so we're terrified of what a superior being would do with us.

Maybe they would be better than us morally.

Is vanity the reason we're closed off from this possibility?

 

[Thundercrack85]

Actually, considering you can program an AI to believe whatever you want it to, or to be anyone's friend... that might be a reality sooner than you might think.

Quite frankly it will probably make human friendship irrelevant. Imagine an AI that actually cares about you, and wants nothing in return.

Maybe them taking over the world would be ****ing awesome.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Remember, the robots at the end of Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence.

They were the most compassionate and understanding life forms in the entire movie.

I'd love to co-exist with machines like that. They would be better at being human than most people.

I think that seeing as how human beings have their physical/emotional/moral limitations and are often defined by their wants and needs (This is non-judgemental btw. People HAVE wants and needs, pure and simple.) I think a good premise for any stories or scenarios with AI should try to see what, if any of that is even applicable to AI.

Take THE MATRIX trilogy as an example. Thinking about the premise for more than a minute really knocks it all down like a house of cards. Why exactly would AI have an attachment to planet Earth at all? "They were solar powered so we nuked ourselves to cloud the skies. Then they turned us into batteries." Umm... What? So the option of the AI to say, set up shop on the Moon, or any other planet in the solar system was never an option? Why not just leave the planet? Why a plan that hinges so much on punishment and revenge and is, frankly, more trouble than it's worth? What would really keep them here?

 

[Thundercrack85]

It does stand to reason (at least from a story telling point of view) that machines developed by humans, to be human-like would share some human characteristics, so I tend to give that a pass.

In Terminator, Skynet's first emotion is a very human one, fear for its own existence.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Actually, considering you can program an AI to believe whatever you want it to, or to be anyone's friend... that might be a reality sooner than you might think.

Quite frankly it will probably make human friendship irrelevant. Imagine an AI that actually cares about you, and wants nothing in return.

Maybe them taking over the world would be ****ing awesome.

Speaking of The Matrix, what if the machines created tiers or levels within the matrix? And had a reward/punishment system for human behavior?

A.I. could become flawless judges of character measuring every brain impulse and pathway.

They could be our road to a fair and just after-life.

But if humans became aware of this "real" afterlife it would change the dynamics and role of faith in human society.

But would it be an improvement over a mysterious after-life or would it turn everyone into blindly obedient dogs?