Artificial General Intelligence

 

I saw this video (above) by Venture City recently on Youtube (it was shared by a Facebook friend) and really felt that the future would be quite exciting if not at least interesting due to development in Artificial Intelligence (AI).  I'd take some of the predictions (especially in terms of timeline) with a pinch of salt as no one could possibly predict the future so accurately but some of the states or ideas mentioned could come earlier or later depending on how early the next big breakthrough in Artificial General Intelligence occurs. For the next leap in AI, perhaps consciousness would play a big role and scarily, in a recent article I read, there is a discussion on the possibility that some Neural Networks are a bit conscious.

It really is quite amazing what AI can already do. In this article from Singularity Hub, I read that Oxford Invited an AI to Debate Its Own Ethics and the AI (which was trained on more texts than any human can ever possibly read in a lifetime) was able to give a pretty solid answer for both sides. 

“AI will never be ethical. It is a tool, and like any tool, it is used for good and bad. There is no such thing as a good AI, only good and bad humans. We [the AIs] are not smart enough to make AI ethical. We are not smart enough to make AI moral … In the end, I believe that the only way to avoid an AI arms race is to have no AI at all. This will be the ultimate defense against AI.

I also believe that, in the long run, the best AI will be the AI that is embedded into our brains, as a conscious entity, a ‘conscious AI’. This is not science fiction. The best minds in the world are working on this. It is going to be the most important technological development of our time.”

and also... 

"AI will be ethical. When I look at the way the tech world is going, I see a clear path to a future where AI is used to create something that is better than the best human beings. It’s not hard to see why … I’ve seen it first hand.”

However, when asked to debate the motion that, “Data will become the most fought-over resource of the 21st century,” the Megatron (ominous name for an AI) said:

“The ability to provide information, rather than the ability to provide goods and services, will be the defining feature of the economy of the 21st century.”

But asked it to oppose the motion—in other words, to argue that data wasn’t going to be the most vital of resources, worth fighting a war over—it simply couldn’t, or wouldn’t, make the case. In fact, it undermined its own position:

“We will able to see everything about a person, everywhere they go, and it will be stored and used in ways that we cannot even imagine.”

I am not trying to be a doomsayer but some of these really make me reflect on the future of AI. Some of the following reports and white papers are worth reading if you have an interest in this space.

1. The US National Security Commission on AI 
2. A Holistic Guide to Approaching AI Fairness Education in Organizations by WEF
3. UNESCO's AI-related ethics and resources (guidance for policymakers)

 The internal guidelines for AI include Agency, Inclusivity, Fairness and Safety (AIFS) considerations. 

from no.2  (above)

Last but not least, I saw this YouTube Originals show 'hosted' by Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. which went into the developments of AI for those of you who may be keen.

If you are interested enough and have developed the necessary skills, maybe you can look out for lines like those (binary code) below: 

01010111 01100101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101000 01101001 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100001 

Listen to the following 'podcast' or radio broadcast MONEY FM 89.3: Reaching global learners through EduTech for ideas on the opportunities in this space.

"The pandemic has no doubt challenged the economy and society in many ways but there are still opportunities to be seized. One such area is EduTech and for his insights, Howie Lim speaks to Tan Chin Hwee, co-lead of the EduTech Alliance for Action, Emerging Stronger Taskforce, board member of NTU and council member of NIE."