Fast learning artificial intelligence

AI

One of the things that have kept some experts from freaking out about Skynet and the takeover of human existence by artificial intelligence is that AI takes ten times longer to learn than humans. Well that is until now.

Google's Deep Mind just created an AI that learns at about the same pace as humans.
"If you’re unfamiliar with how deep learning works, it uses layers of neural networks to locate trends or patterns in data. If one layer identifies a pattern, that information will be sent to the next layer. This process continues until all the information is collected."
The new way of AI thinking imitates the way human and animals learn, "replicating what happens in the prefrontal cortex and then, as a backup, in the hippocampus."

But not to worry, no AI has reached a true human level of thinking, at least not yet.

Robotics may soon take over all of our jobs, but "as AI gets better at learning, it can be taught more and more ways to improve our lives." What is it with futurists? They are such an optimistic bunch.

Do we freak out now?

Comments

  1. I was just talking about this subject with a friend who is terrified and disgusted by the prospect of AI taking over our lives and eventually eliminating all life on earth. I tried to reason with him and show him that to presuppose the intentions of something as complicated as AI is impossible. It's just as likely that AI is benevolent and sees value in organic life. Or AI could be the next step in human evolution, enabling near immortality to our descendants.
    Just like with any new, young mind, it is important to ensure that they are taught the right things and what constitutes bad/immoral behavior. For our sake, let's hope the scientists that are creating AI are also good parents...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fortunately for us, neural networks are still nowhere near capable of reproducing consistent human results. You can take some time to check out a cool neural network on YouTube that was used to make a bot that could play an entire game of Super Mario World flawlessly. The neural network is only able to perfect doing one thing at a time . For instance, when a neural network attempts to play Mario, it performs actions until it can no longer perform an action, like being hit by something and having to start over. Once It starts over, it remembers the exact actions that brought it to just before it had to start over, and then it attempts new actions until one of the actions lets it continue.Take this ideology/process and run it through a simulation at 1000x the speed and eventually the bot will have a pattern of actions that will beat the game. So in reality this isn't intelligent at all. It might take the network ten million simulations before it can find a pattern that beats the game, and even then, the only thing the network knows how to do is beat just that one game. We're a long ways off anything intelligent for now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. With the great power comes the great responsibility. The ethics of supporting the development of AI is always a controversial issue because of its robust functionality in the future. I think it is like for government leaders to have control over militaries and e destructive weapons like atomic bombs, and whether those officials are trustworthy is still debatable. The powerful entities will undoubtedly shape the new ethics and are capable of changing the humanity; it is possible that machines are equally treated as human, it is also possible that computers start to get involved with politics (I think they are participating in political purposes even now). The development of AI is just a level of intelligence revolution; some benefit, some do not. I think what we need to worry about is not how possible things can kill us in the future, but how we can morally take advantages from this tool we created, without programming them to be potentially hostile.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am absolutely terrified by this. I believe that one day AI will be as smart as humans, and when that day comes. They'll take over our jobs and everything. It could also be quite dangerous if it happens because when a robot thinks like a person. It has the potential to do all sort of things. And it also involves ethical issues, such as shutting(killing) down robots just because they have the ability to think like a person, it's just like a person's soul live inside a machine. It just feels wrong and weird for me. If that they comes I think the world we live in will be completely twisted.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I truly believe that the most stupidest thing a person can do is create a robot as smart as a human. Why do I say this? I remember in my anthropology class my professor said that humans are not meant to live a world that we live today. Meaning very high tech. We're so dependent on technology that imagine bringing a robot like Al in the world. I think it would make us even more lazy. This robot Al will destroy humans creativity. This new revolution of this advance technology is very scary. Hope Al doesn't turn evil and wants too take over the world like the sci-fi films.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a really scary thought. If one day Al is as smart as humans we may be in trouble. The robots may take over our jobs and with it being able to do just as much as a human then we may become a very poor society with so many of the jobs being taken over by Al and his friends. We as humans should want to continue to get smarter and learn new things so this does not happen. This could be a very bad thing for our society.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's true that artificial intelligence is advancing at a rapid rate, as just a few years ago the amount a robot could do was limited. These robots are able to mimic some of the basics of the human thought process, but I find it hard to believe that robots will be able to completely copy how the human mind works. The human mind is so complex and it is always jumping from one idea to another, connecting one idea we had in the near or far past to something we are learning in the present. I also think it would be difficult for a robot to think philosophically and create new ideas when their programs are meant to get their information from what is already known and learn from there. Even though it is difficult for me to fathom a robot capable of having the human thought process, the idea that robots will be taking a lot of jobs is very real. It is already happening, although it's not the sci-fi version that sci-fi horror movies put out. It's basic machinery that mass produces goods in factories. Those machines have wiped out a lot of jobs. The human population is in a trend where the possibility of it going down is near to impossible. With a growing population, having enough jobs is important, but with all the new robotics that are being created, will there be any factory jobs left? With these new advancements that are supposed to improve our lives and make it easier, how will the lower middle class or people living in poverty's lives become easier? It seems like it could only become harder from there. Easier does not always mean better.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It would be scary to think of our lifes with AI taking over our society. It would cause so many poverty with the people because they wouldn't be able to work and being seen as the lower class overall. For now they are working in making the AI better and having the characterisitics that a human has, being fast and learning quickly. Being humans we might be thinking it shouldn't be a big deal for now because the robots aren't yet capable of working in the fastest route , but in my opinion I personally believe that we should be frightened because it would affect all of us as a society but mostly the future generation ahead of us. I just hope that the AI wants to do good for our society and helping us, rather than being evil and wanting to take over, ruining our society that we live in.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AI's taking our jobs is a terrifying thing to think about considering how many people would be putout of the job. If one machine could do the job of a hundred people there would be no point for us, I mean yes this is an amazing achievement for mankind but at what cost.

    ReplyDelete
  10. In my honest opinion, humans are tampering with something that has the potential for disaster. Though advancements in AI technology benefit the human race, I feel that if we continue to advance AI technology to the point of AI self-awareness, it could lead to situation very similar to terminator where the AI attempts to destroy the human race for enslaving it. It is a very scary to think that AI minds can take over society. I believe we have to monitor our advancement in this technology so that it wouldn't happen. Technology is good, but we shouldn't let it take over our entire lives.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Honestly, I find this quite terrifying because robotics are slowly taking over what humans contribute to society. Now that they learn the same pace as humans they can practically do anything we can do. I would consider this as a complete fail for humans because how are people going to survive if they don't have any jobs to make money. I personally don't think this high intelligent robot will improve our lives because it can possibly create a mind of its own or simply just making humans lazy.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think of AI as a double-edged sword that can benefit us as well as ruin us. It is true that it will benefit humans considering we live in a modern society that is entirely dependent on making our lives easier and getting things faster. As we progress, so does our workload and things to do but unfortunately there is not enough time of the day to do everything we need to do. AI is another form of tool to help us live life smoothly as we focus on other issues that take up more of our interest. Unfortunately, because of movies such as The Terminator and so forth, it creates a paranoia that AI will take over the world but that is if the creator sets it up that way to even get that far. As for now, we still have to fix most of our problems with our hands so I am not worried. I'll let the next generation worry about it instead.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I feel that anything electronic should be there to only benefit humans, but should not replicate a human. I feel that it crosses a line that you can't turn back from. If we have robots that can do the jobs of humans, then where does that leave us? I mean corporations are always looking for a way to cut labor costs, and this provides them it. For example now when you go to a Safeway they have self check out, or starbucks mobile app that pretty much eliminates having a cashier. These are all taking jobs away from humans and replacing them with technology, which threatens so many jobs.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Man versus Machine might be a newly written about style when the takeover commences. Until then, artificial intelligence could save ample lives to pay for the cost of it's birth and benefit it's parent company. Surgical robots capable of per patient diagnosis and resolution. When nanotechnology is perfected by the exponentially growing AI, metabolite count can dose the perfect prescription without wasted or abused surfeit. If only the geniuses attempting to perfect this technology would read up on the historical rise of computer efficiency.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Human interactions with robots sounds like a successful stride in technological advancement. It would be pretty cool to have an intelligent robot take my order at a Starbucks. The only issue I have if this were to happen is the decrease in number of jobs. With AI, there can be less jobs available, which means more financial struggles for people and their families. The thought of robots taking over human jobs is definitely something to worry about because they could be capable of many skills and talents we aren't.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Although futurists are very optimistic about the future of AI, it seems as though they keep hitting a big blind spot when it comes to discussing this issue. On one hand it could boost productivity in many areas by having robots and machines that solely focus on a variety of tasks. However, it is also important to note that this could potentially displace many workers around the world, which might have an effect on these workers' sense of purpose. This is something the futurists seem to forget (or perhaps ignore).
    As far as beginning to freak out over this, there may be a slight level of exaggeration. The fear of technology taking over jobs goes back to nearly a century ago when there were similar predictions of de-industrialization. Moreover, economists have often pointed to network externalities, where it takes time for a technology to have a significant effect due to the number of people using it. In other words, even if there is a cause for alarm towards these developments in AI, it may take a little more time than we think before businesses and even societies as whole begin to adapt to AI. They will certainly explore not only the benefits but also flaws such as malfunctions and lack of safety that put might put them at risk with AI.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Reading this article, the Three Law of Robotics suddenly came into my mind. As long as the AI has self-sustaining knowledge that wouldn't allow it to harm human beings, then wouldn't it be alright since they still obey such Laws, despite the plots from so many sci-fi movies that have milked the dangers of machines. Then again, we shouldn't ignore that having machines replace humans in the workforce is still a huge possibility. People shouldn't be forced out of their career just because someone else has made an inanimate object far more superior than them. Humans need money, food and more necessities. Machines don't need none of that.
    Besides, if scientists know what they're doing, Skynet would be the least of our problems.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The issue of artificial intelligence has always been an extremely controversial and dangerous one. While it is reassuring that artificial intelligence has not yet reached the level of true human thinking, the whole crux of an AI is to rapidly learn and improve itself over time. Although it may not feel like it yet, the age of robots has already begun for us. Just the other day I came across an article on an semi-automated mason robot named 'Sam', which can construct buildings and structures six times faster than humans. In relation to this, we can already expect an enormous amount of unemployment in the near future as many jobs out there will become automated. Also, as AI continues to develop and improve itself, it will eventually reach the point where it will be able to think for itself and therefore gain the ability to lie. If this comes into fruition, then humanity will be doomed as it will most likely be too late for us to turn the tide by the time we realize this. Furthermore, as technological advances continue to rapidly develop, our dependency on such machines will be even greater, and much like it was depicted in the Pixar film Wall-E, humanity will become lazy, slothful creatures, and human creativity will start declining rapidly. Whatever our next move for AI is, humanity must tread very carefully to prevent our very creation(s) from destroying us.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I don't think it is a good idea to make a robot that can act as if it were a human because anything can happen. Something can go wrong. Some people have seen movies that where a robot is built it takes over, but I am not talking about it taking over the world. I think it is not a good idea because it can become smarter than the humans if possible and can take our jobs and do things better than us. Those "robots" would take our independence, those who have it. This little experiment that these people are trying can hurt us mentally.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Making a robot to try and replicate human intelligence is not a good idea. One flaw that can come with this invention is that many humans learn through their own emotions; how something makes them feel. Can a robot do that? Maybe it can be inputted through technology however, is it accurate? I think that's a major flaw and one can't replicate something like emotion because it's different for everyone. I don't think it's a good idea, also, because are robots going to start taking over the work place? That's another terrible idea associated with this robot. I do not think this is a good idea at all.

    ReplyDelete
  21. The thought that there could be AI in the workforce sounds pretty cool and scary at the same time. The last thing we need are robots to take over jobs that could go to real people who need it. I think it sounds cool in a sense that it could be a novelty attraction where these robots take orders and serve depending on how developed they are. In the meantime, I think it’s safe to say that we have a bunch of time before we start freaking out. I’m sure there are a bunch of tests and safety codes to go through before an AI can be functioning in public. Scientists probably have to make back up off switches in case of malfunction or the AI somehow turns against us (just like almost any plot to an AI movie). It’s fascinating to see what humans are capable of, especially when they’re on the brink of making fast learning AIs. The intentions of improving our lives are good, but could leave many without jobs. Maybe if it’s like the robot from The Jetsons, then I think that would be helpful, like a life-size Siri.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Robots intelligently getting smarter is a great accomplishment in human inventions. However, they will one day take over what humans due on daily basis to survive such as working. Its alarming that Al thinking is develop drastically that they might outsmart humans humans one day. Will this been the end of our existence? Sounds familiar like story line "Planet of the Apes" where apes develop humans skills and over ruled the human era. It is great that we humans are rapidly discovery or inventing new things that are beneficial to us. But is it necessity to create something that out smart us and handle our daily business for the rest of our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  23. The idea of having a robot that can do little things for us sounds pretty cool and fun but the idea that they'll be able to think at the same pace as hum ans is a bit scary. It's a bit scary for the idea that these robots will one day have the potential to take over all the jobs or other vital roles humans play in society. It's very exciting that our technology is constantly advancing and new discoveries are being made but I feel with the experiment of robots there should be a limit to how far it goes because too much of a good thing could quickly turn into a bad thing.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I personally think that AI will be the next age that man enters. Its something that just has so much potential to improve the quality of life for society and to allow people to put their focus onto more important matters. An AI, I believe, could solve problems in the world like hunger and potentially one day war, and just create a more unified society. As for the whole Skynet thing, that's more of a Hollywood thing that could be prevented by creating other smaller programs/AI to keep the main AI program in check. Fear of AI without proper grounds, in my eyes, is just simply the fear of technology or the unknown. AI is the next age of man, and people that try to stop AI from inevitably happening are just going to be left in the dust.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Recognizing the advancements that technology has made, we must be cautious with the pace at which they are growing. Sure, waking up to the smell of coffee in the morning sounds amazing; however, that's not the part of AI that is worrying. Once Artificial Intelligence can think like a human, they can outsmart a human. Learning like one, means, inevitably, they have characteristics like humans - often terrible ones will ensue. One of the most prominent characteristics is the human desire of never being satisfied. What are the possible outcomes that can arise if the AI system is not never satisfied? An artificial intelligence could potentially see a huge gold mine of information in the defense ministry and can possibly hack into it, causing potential disastrous outcomes. Who is to say that is not the start of World War 3? Of course, these are just hypothetical, should the algorithms used to create the Artificial intelligence is created with caution to take into account such measures, Artifical Intelligence could be the next step into human evolutionary success.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Looking from a Computer geek point of view, this is great. AI has always been the SciFi topic that the future has been playing with since the late 80's. I personally would like the idea of researching AI the only back drop would be the AI recognizing itself as a "thing" or person . If we were to create AI it can go either one way as a huge success or another where they take over the world like the movie terminator. AI is very interesting to me because It grabs peoples attention that you can speak with a computer and relate towards it. It can ask you certain questions, Make up its own mind, and have feelings. I've seen plenty of movies with AI (Interstellar, Space Odyssey, Her, etc...) People that are into the idea of creating AI have also thought about theory believing that we are all in one computer simulation. This theory credibility comes from how everything in the world is able to be proven through mathematics. So if we are able to create AI then that is an act of god.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Lauren Satariano
    Eng 1001-16

    I believe that AI is a force to be reckoned with. It is an amazing technological advancement, however is has the ability to get out of hand very quickly. These AI bots are able to process information just as fast, or even faster than humans. This can become dangerous when AI realizes that we are unnecessary. They will be able to do things that are unimaginable to use, leaving us behind in intelligence. We should not continue to develop this technology, as we already know the many unavoidable fates that await us once AI takes over.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Many people are optimistic for the future and robots because they want to improve the lives of those around them, become part of history. I wouldn't necessarily freak out right now. So far we haven't ever experience an invention coming to light like AIs. We don't know how to feel about something until it actually happens, but we can always assume or make predictions. If robots end up biting us in the butt, then it is a lesson we will learn the hard way. Just like in World Wars, we made mistakes and learned from it...Well I hope we did. The same should go for AIs, maybe it can be the greatest piece of technology ever invented or it could be the worst mistake in human history. Time will tell.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Reading this post and having the information from the three articles we are currently working on gives me a greater sense of danger for AI's. Seeing as how futurists are expecting for AI to have high IQ along with the ability to have an important role in our lives making things easier and having access to important information. There was also something about how AI were as dangerous as nuclear weapons considering them a major threat because they weren't being regulated. The AI are dangerous things that are projected to be greater than human beings with no real emotions meaning they have no sympathy for anything they can show it, but have no true feeling. Meaning that they can easily get rid of us without caring. Making me worry about our future of how it may lead to a path of ruin considering that the robots are only being built without caring about consequences simply because companies want to be the first to create a perfect AI first.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Avengers: Age of Ultron already freaked me out like crazy but this post with the earlier articles I read is honestly making me worried. The movie showed me how bad AI can be for the world and the fact that we do not have superheros in real life means that the world will become chaos with no hope of be saved. The fact that the AI in the movie was made by private business could mean that there may be some groups that have this. "Machines that Will Think and Feel," shows that AI can learn at a better pace than humans since they were able to beat the master player in Go, which is a highly cognitive thinking game. The government need to start taking actions for us to be able to regulate AI. In conclusion, yes we need to be freaking out!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I was actually very surprised while reading this post. I didn't even know that AI could think at all. I just thought that it was programmed to act a certain way. Now that I am reading it, it makes me think that space exploration will be easier, and that wars can be fought without risking many soldiers lives. I do not think that there will be a successful way to replace human labor because there needs to be a way for people to make money to buy the products that companies profit off of. So I honestly have to say that there is nothing to worry about, we will be fine.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a very interesting topic that I have been paying close attention too for the past few weeks. My newfound interest in AI has been driven by my fear of AI. I believe the advances in AI may seem to be cutting edge technology that is helping the human race. But at the same time I am afraid AI is also very dangerous and should be approached with caution. My fears stem from the ideas in this article, I believe if AI robots can think at the same level as a human they can also be as corrupted, as a human. Furthermore, I am afraid that AI will make many of the jobs that humans occupy obsolete which will in turn hurt humans more than help them. Overall, I am afraid of these new advances in AI and I think the worlds innovators in this field need to figure out ways to possibly shutdown rogue AI robots. I know I sound like a science fiction enthusiast, but I believe most people are undermining this real life science fiction based technology.

    ReplyDelete
  33. There is only one way for A1 robots to be created and that it through materialistic things and the natural mind of all humans working together to create it. A1s, to me are like robots from the movies such as IRobot, Terminator, or Prometheus. Prometheus is a good example of an A1 robot because it was so smart that once it reached the ship of the aliens it began to automatically put pieces together that would have taken a human being a while to find the solution to. Also its characteristic material was nice as it had humanlike texture such as silicon and what not but once it had been hit really hard and broke in half, its purpose was irrelevant. A1s cannot reproduce the way humans do because it takes time for a human body to develop as it is in the womb. Making an A1 robot will just be a robot that has no age but just intelligence. Let's face it, nowadays nobody wants to put effort into the work that they do which will then call for more production of A1 robots to do the job and as the A1 robots learn their "self-worth/purpose", that is when we should worry because it will be like adding another "race" to the human species. Nobody wants to be treated as if they cannot control themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  34. When it comes to AI we should be cautious, yet brave during its innovation. Without Innovation and proper caution, we won't be able to get to the future we desire. The future we desire is still in development and if we're careful while developing we might get an altruistic society where AI machinery coexists with humans to strengthen the planet.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Since young, I've always been a fan of the movie terminator. However, the thought of it coming to reality has always haunted me. I believe that artificial intelligence is not something to be messed around with. At the same time, I also believe that it is important for us to constantly advance technologically. In conclusion, I believe that we have to constantly advance while watching our step, technology is something we depend on everyday.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Superpower Would You Choose?

Ancient Rome: When Being a Teen was Tough

The 12 Types of Procrastinators and Kittens