So, are concerns about artificial intelligence alarmist or not? This article will cover the five main risks of artificial intelligence, explaining the currently available technology in these areas.
How Can AI Be Dangerous?
Artificial intelligence is disrupting and revolutionizing nearly every industry. As technology advances, it has the potential to greatly improve many aspects of our lives.
But it’s not without risks.
And with many experts warning about the potential dangers of AI, we should probably be vigilant. On the one hand, these are alarmist views, and many argue that there is no immediate danger from AI.
Are your concerns about artificial intelligence surprising? This article looks at the five major risks of artificial intelligence and describes the technologies currently available in these areas.
AI is becoming more sophisticated by the day, and this can pose risks ranging from mild risks (such as job disruption) to catastrophic existential risks. The risks posed by AI are hotly debated due to the lack of general understanding (and consensus) around AI technology.
AI is widely believed to be dangerous in two ways.
- AI is programmed to do malicious things.
- AI is programmed to be useful, but it does something destructive in the process of achieving its AI software goals.
The classic hypothesis argument is jokingly called the “Paper Clip Maximizer”. In this thought experiment, a superintelligent AI is programmed to maximize the number of paperclips in the world. If it’s smart enough, it can destroy the entire world for that purpose. is not. So what are some of the immediate risks facing us from AI?
1. Job automation and interruption
Automation is the threat of AI that already dominates society.
From mass-produced factories to self-service checkouts to self-driving cars, automation has been around for decades and the process is accelerating. A 2019 Brookings Institution study found that 36 million jobs could be at risk of automation in the next few years.
The problem is that AI systems outperform humans in many tasks. They are cheaper, more efficient, and more accurate than humans.
For example, AI is already better at spotting fake art than human experts, and it is even better at diagnosing tumors from X-rays.
Another problem is that many workers who have lost their jobs due to post-automation relocation are ineligible for the newly created jobs in the AI sector because they lack the necessary skills and expertise. That’s it.
As AI systems continue to improve, they will be able to perform tasks far better than humans. This can be done with pattern recognition, providing insight, or accurate predictions. The resulting job disruption can lead to growing social inequality and even economic catastrophe.
2. Security and Privacy
In 2020, the UK government commissioned a report on artificial intelligence and the UK’s national security. The report highlights the need for AI in UK cybersecurity defenses to detect and contain threats that require faster response than human decision-making.
The problem is that as concerns about AI-driven security grow, AI-driven preventative measures are expected to increase as well. If we fail to take steps to protect ourselves from AI concerns, we risk getting into an endless race with the bad guys.
This also raises the question of how to make AI systems self-assuring. When using AI algorithms to defend against various security concerns, we need to ensure that the AI itself is protected from malicious actors.
When it comes to privacy, big corporations and governments are already being asked to erode our privacy. , AI algorithms are designed to easily create user profiles that enable highly accurate ad targeting.
The facial recognition technology is also very sophisticated. Cameras can create real-time profiles of people.
Some police forces around the world are reportedly using smart glasses with facial recognition software to easily flag wanted or suspected criminals.
The risk is that this technique could be extended to authoritarian regimes or simply malicious individuals or groups.
3. AI Malware
AI is getting better at hacking security systems and cracking cryptography. This is done, among other things, by using machine learning algorithms to “evolve” the malware. Malware learns what works through trial and error and can become increasingly dangerous over time.
New smart technologies (such as self-driving cars) have been identified as high-risk targets for this type of attack, where attackers can cause car crashes and traffic jams. As we become more reliant on internet-connected smart technologies, our daily lives are increasingly exposed to the risk of interference.
4. Autonomous Weapons
Autonomous weapons – weapons controlled by AI systems rather than humans – exist and have been around for quite some time. Hundreds of technical experts are calling on the United Nations to develop ways to protect humanity from the risks of autonomous weapons.
Government forces around the world already have access to a variety of AI-controlled or semi-AI-controlled weapon systems, including military drones. Using facial recognition software, drones can track people.
What if we let AI algorithms make life-or-death decisions without human intervention?
It also enables consumer technologies (such as drones) to fly autonomously and adapt to perform different tasks. Abuse of this kind of ability can affect a person’s safety in everyday life.
5. Deepfakes, Fake News, and Political Security
Face reconstruction software (better known as deepfake technology) is becoming increasingly indistinguishable from reality.
The threat of deepfakes has already affected celebrities and world leaders, and it won’t be long before it permeates the general public. For example, scammers are already blackmailing people with deepfake videos made from something as simple and accessible as their Facebook profile picture.
The risks don’t end there. AI can recreate and edit photos, write text, duplicate audio, and automatically generate highly targeted ads. We have already seen how some of these dangers affect society.
Mitigating the Risks of Artificial Intelligence
As artificial intelligence matures and becomes more powerful, we see many positive advances. Unfortunately, powerful new technologies always run the risk of being exploited. These risks affect nearly every aspect of our daily lives, from privacy to political security to workplace automation.
The first step in mitigating the risks of artificial intelligence is deciding where we want to use AI and where we should stop using it. Increased research and discussion of AI systems and their use is the first step towards preventing their misuse.
