The role of Artificial Intelligence and/or "thinking" machines in our future?

Started by Hoofer, January 17, 2018, 08:46:13 AM

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Are you concerned over Artificial Intelligence?

Yes.
0 (0%)
Possibly, and I'm pretty optimistic about the prospects.
0 (0%)
Maybe, unless we're protected, it's not a bad thing.
0 (0%)
Nope, not really, and there's a lot who think like me.
0 (0%)
No.
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 0

Voting closed: January 27, 2018, 08:46:13 AM

Hoofer

With the print media blitz over Artificial Intelligence over the last year, unless you weren't paying attention, here's a recap.

a.  China is trying to become the world leader in mass production, via robotic machinery.  This will displace workers, of course, but IMO, someone still needs to fix the machines.

b.  Sexbots are being hailed as the thing that will prevent "families", yeah, they say women will want them, men will marry them, and the birth rate will drop so low the human race will eventually be in jeopardy of extinction.  I suppose Global Warming and Earth 1st folks would be rejoicing, all the way to the grave.

c.  The low skilled Migrant worker is already being replaced in some places with robots, which can traverse a row of, say strawberries, and quickly pick just the ripe ones, at the perfect time period for market, monitoring the product 24hrs a day - something manual labor cannot do.

d.  We already have some pieces of machinery which cannot properly function, without computer intervention.   Practically everything new that flies, has a computer controller to ease & assist the human operator in controlling basic flight functions.   Even the typical car or truck has an ECU that enhances fuel economy, and given the huge push to driverless cars by major automobile manufacturers, the steering wheel may become obsolete in just a few years.  Insurance companies might hasten the demise of the current crop of automobiles, faster than consumer demand.

e.  Various "automatic" systems have been filtering into everyday life, revolutionizing the way we live.  Amazon has opened stores without cash registers, just load your smart shopping cart and head to the car, you're account be billed as you walk out the door.  The idea of loading my grocery cart ONCE instead of TWICE is appealing in itself.  If you don't ever talk to the checker at the cash register, you probably wouldn't miss them, or the bag boy slamming your goods into bags and dropping mellons onto your carton of eggs.

I suspect, there will be a growing resentment of AI and smart machines, those who will wish to not have automatic thermostats, smart fridges, etc., a backlash of the machine society, and preservation of the simplier... more costly life?  Call them the "wood stove" keepers.  Those who would rather open a window in the summer than live in a climate controller environment... the people who probably wouldn't read this, because they only access a computer at the public library, when they must.

I'm in that category between, "I don't know what the think." and "I don't care, I already have some defined limits, let the world move on without me".   Some radio hosts seem hell-bent on the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, playing "futurist of fortune", and attempting to scare the hell out of everyone, "This IS coming folks, you need to prepare!"  So, I wonder, if I'm in a minority, or as my pollster daughter says, "Dad... YOU are the demographic AVERAGE, sorry."   At least wifey says I'm kinda special -skip-, special -skip-, special .bam. and not like other guys.
All animals are created equal; Some just take longer to cook.   Survival is keeping an eye on those around you...