AI, China, and guardrails

"Five years from now, as we are ready to exit the 2020's and start the 2030's, we will not be looking to see what part of our lives that AI exists in. Rather we will be wondering if there is any part of AI which is NOT part of our lives. Learning to live with AI is something we will all need to get used to. Learning how to develop and harness AI is where the really good paying jobs will be." 

For some reason, the theme this past Sunday (other than nail biting football), was AI. Why now? Why not wait until the start of the new year to discuss the pros and cons of this brand-new technology? Because AI is already starting to gallop like a prize-winning racehorse. It is felt by the experts, that if we don't get some "rules of the road" and/or guardrails set up soon, the "genie" will really be out of the bottle - for good.

What is the problem? Why not just slow down? I mean, if AI could indeed be a game changer for humanity (in either good or bad ways), just slow your roll a bit. Sounds good, except for one minor issue - China. China and the US are involved in a dead heat to see who will get to the big prize first with AI. And that big prize would be self-thinking machines. AGI to ASI technology. Is China setting up guardrails, or is it damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead? I think most of us know the answer to that one.

Do we slow down and err on the side of caution? Let China take the lead? Or maintain our slim lead in this race and go for broke? Here is the long and the short of this issue, based on an article I recently read. As far as AI is concerned, the genie is already out of the bottle. In many developed nations worldwide, AI has already been introduced. Developed and developing nations know the benefits that AI could bring to them. But do they also understand the dangers? Good question. But the allure of the benefits of AI are blinding many.

In the very near future, perhaps as early as next year, the first real effect of AI will be noticed by many. Jobs. Many lower level, unskilled jobs are low fruit on the tree for AI. You can already see AI taking effect in warehouses and factories. Some AI will be built into the machines that produce - other AI will be in the form of humanoids. Then the question will become, what to do with displaced workers with limited skills? That question will need to be answered sooner rather than later. 

Five years from now, as we are ready to exit the 2020's and start the 2030's, we will not be looking to see what part of our lives that AI exists in. Rather we will be wondering if there is any part of AI which is NOT part of our lives. Learning to live with AI is something we will all need to get used to. Learning how to develop and harness AI is where the really good paying jobs will be. 

Love it or hate it, AI is here to stay. The AI which is in your Siri or Alexa will soon look like the stone ages compared to the AI which is on the horizon. Some might think that even article such as this one might be penned by some variant of AI. To that I respond - NOT ON MY WATCH!