Tim
Robberts
|
Digitalvision
|
Getty
Images
The
widespread
arrival
of
generative
artificial
intelligence
has
prompted
alarm
from
many
quarters.
A
recent
U.S.
government-funded
study
warned
of
“uncontrollable”
consequences
from
AI.
There
are
catastrophic
concerns
over
AI-powered
cyberattacks
and
the
potential
loss
of
jobs
as
AI
replaces
tasks.
But
doom
is
only
one
interpretation
of
AI.
According
to
experts
paid
to
predict
the
future,
the
arrival
of
AI
is
more
likely
than
not
to
offer
a
roadmap
out
of
humanity’s
worst
impulses
and
create
a
better,
more
equitable
world.
That’s
the
rosy
scenario
outlined
in
a
recent
survey
by
Tata
Consultancy
Services,
which
measured
the
AI
views
of
21
futurists
worldwide.
“We
are
now
at
a
point
in
time
where
science
and
technology
can
enable
the
advancement
of
humanity
in
a
way
we
have
not
seen
in
a
long
time,”
said
Frank
Diana,
managing
partner
and
principal
futurist
at
Tata.
“We
are
in
a
place
we
haven’t
been
since
the
second
industrial
revolution,”
he
said,
predicting
that
AI’s
widespread
arrival
will
herald
innovation
in
transportation,
energy,
medicine,
and
communication.
This
view
is
a
world
away
from
some
prominent
tech
leaders
who
have
darkly
warned
that
AI
will
overtake
human
intelligence
within
a
few
years.
In
Silicon
Valley
itself,
there
is
a
big
split
between
techno-optimists
and
doomsdayers.
Diana
says
the
doomsday
scenarios
distract
and
undermine
the
technology’s
potential.
“I
think,
honestly,
the
conversation
around
conscious
robots
and
artificial
superintelligence
gets
in
the
way,”
Diana
said.
“If
AI
is
managed
correctly,
we
will
instead
talk
about
all
the
great
things
AI
can
do
for
humanity.”
He
said
today’s
often
negative
view
of
AI
in
the
popular
imagination
has
roots
in
the
1970s
when
Hollywood
shifted
towards
more
ominous
themes
that
matched
the
country’s
mood.
But
before
that,
he
said,
technology
was
viewed
as
something
that
could
one
day
deliver
utopia.
Author
and
futurist
Bernard
Marr,
who
was
not
involved
in
the
Tata
survey,
echoed
the
more optimistic
thinking.
“I
see
all
the
amazing
benefits
AI
can
bring
and
I
see
it
every
day.
I
believe
AI
is
the
most
powerful
technology
humans
have
ever
had
access
to,”
Marr
said,
a
power
he
believes
can
be
used
to
bulldoze
inequities
and
challenges
in
health,
education,
and
climate
change.
“We
are
a
very
long
way
from
AI
becoming
sentient,
if
ever.
But
AI
is
very,
very
good
at
doing
things
that
in
the
past
only
humans
could
do,”
Marr
said.
“The
mundane
is
a
waste
of
our
power
as
humans.
AI
will
allow
us
to
focus
on
the
amazing
power
that
makes
us
human,”
he
added.
He
sees
AI’s
role
evolving
into
being
a
constant
co-pilot
rather
than
staying
awake
at
night
worrying
about
robots
taking
over
the
planet.
“AI
will
make
doctor
and
patient
relationships
much
better,”
Marr
said,
describing
how
the
insurance
and
regulatory
paperwork
that
bogs
doctors
down
now
will
be
taken
over
by
AI,
freeing
up
the
practitioner
to
spend
more
time
with
patients.
“I
don’t
see
AI
as
anything
scary;
all
the
systems
being
developed
are
not
working
against
humans
but
are
making
us
better.”
Given
AI’s
power,
regulations,
laws,
and
safeguards
are
necessary
to
prevent
abuse.
“But
already
you
are
starting
to
see
that
happen,”
Marr
said,
referring
to
recent
legislation
by
the
EU.
So
why
the
widespread
fear?
When
people
talk
about
sentient
AI,
they
usually
turn
immediately
to
the
ominous.
Sentient,
however,
can
also
be
benevolent
or
values-neutral,
but
that
is
not
the
AI
people
usually
think
about.
The
reason
people
fear
AI
lies
in
our
very
humanity,
said
Kelsey
Latimer,
a
Florida-based
clinical
psychologist
who
specializes
in
anxiety
disorder. She
said
that
humans
are
hard-wired
to
brace
themselves
for
the
worst.
“From
an
evolutionary
point
of
view,
we
are
primed
to
see
the
negative
and
scary
things
so
that
we
could
see
the
predators
coming
toward
us
and
respond,”
Latimer
said.
If
we
view
something
as
unfavorable
and
it
turns
out
to
be
positive,
no
harm
is
done.
If
we
view
something
as
positive
but
it
turns
out
to
be
negative,
then
we
often
need
to
prepare
for
the
consequences.
Futurists
like
Diana
and
Marr
predict
the
consequences
of
AI
will
be
positive
ones.
“With
the
use
of
AI,
the
passion
and
the
creativity
that
we
as
humans
can
do
will
start
to
shine
through,”
Diana
said.
