Rachel Rainville

Artificial Intelligence Amongst the Human Race

The smart phone is a technological device that most millennials are familiar with.

Whether it is Siri or another smart phone character, the majority of the population are already

in an in-depth conversation with artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence can be defined as

the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require

human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and

translation between languages. While we are already indulged with artificial intelligence over a

variety of different mediums, we are able to recognize what is real and what is robot. The

problem is when technological advancements are able to mirror their creator: when these

robots take the on the actual form of a human not only in an intelligence sense, but also

physical.

There are many science fiction movies in which the antagonist are robots such as “Blade

Runner”, “I-Robot”, “The Terminator”, and more. The movie “Blade Runner” was made in 1982

and depicted a 2019 setting. This is relevant for the fact that due to Hanson Robotics, a human-

like robot was recently created. The CNBC article, Could you fall in love with this robot?, by

Harriet Taylor, explains “Hanson believes that artificial intelligence will evolve to the point

where they will truly be our friends.” However cool that may sound, this is a potential recipe for

disaster. After all, these movies are a forecasting of the potential threats that artificial

intelligence may cause.

Hanson Robotics have created this robot, Sophia that was first activated in April of 2015.

She is designed to have very human like characteristics with skin made out of patented silicon

to give the appearance of human flesh she is able to make more than 62 facial expressions. Her

eyes are made up of cameras which are combined with computer algorithms which enable her

to see and emulate further human-like qualities such as eye contact and facial recognition. A

variety of different technologies allow Sophia to learn and become smarter over time, while

other technological inventions are being explored to enhance the advancements of Sophia. Dr.

Hanson says that robots will be indistinguishable from humans one day, they will be able to

“walk, play, teach, help and form real relationships with people.”

The article, Accident of Science, proposes that through new inventions of science there

is an equally new threat that is introduced into the realm of possibility. For example, Virilio

discusses Chernobyl as an accident that nobody imagined happening after the invention of

electricity. Therefore, the invention of artificial intelligence designed to act like humans is the

programming of a new catastrophe and an accident we cannot imagine.

Hanson has the idea that artificial intelligence will evolve to the point of being our

friends. He believes that the human-like qualities of the robots will “rehumanize us” and

“decrease the trend of the distance between people and instead connect us with people as well

as with robots.” Hanson thinks the key to creating robots that care about humans is making

them as human like as possible for this will be able to help prevent some of the discomfort or

disconnect between humans and the developing super-intelligent or human-level machines.

These robots are being designed to “serve in health care, therapy, education and customer

service applications.”

This alone presents a problem. Robots are being designed to take over human work

space. What would this mean for an actual human being looking for a job in which they need in

order to provide for themselves and their families? It would mark the beginning of artificial

intelligence replacing the actual human being.

The Gestalt Theory mentioned in The Oblique would be an essential part as to why these

robots possess a threat to human kind. The perceptual psychology behind a robot working in an

environment such as in education would mean that they are interfering with that space. “A

political space applies to a piece of land, whether small or large,” (pg. 55). A space is always

considered political because of who is in control of it. Virilio states that when a tower is built in

which you can control a city, men will fight in order to occupy and control it. Therefore, if

robots were introduced into these fields of work, men will view the robots as taking over these

work spaces and perceive that to be a threat to their power.

In the Accident of Science Virilio states that artificial intelligence is not actual

intelligence, but it is computation. It is mentioned that because men are not able to calculate

fast enough, we invent a “thingamabob” that is able to faster. Virilio says that just because it is

faster, it does not make it better. The difference between artificial intelligence is the speed in

which the robot will be able to process certain equations. “Artificial intelligence is a way of

discrediting reflection in favor of calculation. You know to what extent I believe the material

and the spiritual to be linked,” (pg. 152). These robots are designed to create algorithms in

order to understand, to develop, and to learn along with the human race, however this passage

would suggest that they are missing the spiritual link. However, they would still be able to

process, calculate, and compute a new algorithm at the speed of light. “Speed is not only a

problem of time, it’s a problem of milieu,” (pg. 151). Milieu is a persons’ social environment,

which wraps it back around to the point that humanized robots present a threat to the

sociology and psychology of an actual human.

It is not necessarily the fact that artificial intelligence is a ticking time bomb in the a way

that we do not know what will come from these human-like robots, but more so the problem

that the way in which humankind will perceive these androids and interact with them. These

robots are programmed to learn from humans through algorithms, through different codes that

are installed in their creation. Maybe the problem is not that of Artificial Intelligence, but the

interactivity humans hold with it.

In order to gain a small understanding of this point, the example of the Microsoft AI

Chatbot, Tay was an experiment in “conversational understanding.” The idea that Microsoft

proposed, was that this Chatbot would be able to learn through engaging with people. But

unfortunately, the conversations that were held with Tay were misogynistic, racist, and very

untasteful. Although many of the remarks made by the chatbot were the result of copying

users, it just goes to show that Artificial Intelligence is not able to properly reflect on the

information being fed to it. This presents a whole new problem, “how are we going to teach

Artificial Intelligence using public data without incorporating the worst traits of humanity?”

Since these human-like robots are designed to learn from us, who exactly will they be

learning from? What will be their moral compass? Will they be able to reflect upon what they

are told or will it be simply placed into an algorithm and stored in their hard drive?

There are no definite answers to these questions. There is no proper way in predicting

the outcomes of what artificial intelligence is going to learn. Overall, it really depends on the

interface, the interactivity between human beings and human-like artificial intelligence. At this

point, it is unavoidable, and that is the scary part. We all play a role in this dialogue between

human kind and technology. In a way, it is up to the human race to raise these robots like

children instilling them with high morals and not negative banter or teaching them hateful ways

of life. In a way Artificial Intelligence is a depiction of who we are as people, and how are

society is perceived by each other.

References

Taylor, H. (2016, March 16). Could you fall in love with this robot? Retrieved from

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/16/could-you-fall-in-love-with-this-robot.html

Taylor, H. (2016, March 16). Could you fall in love with this robot? Retrieved from

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/16/could-you-fall-in-love-with-this-robot.html