Artificial Intelligence Will Save Us... Right?!

Humans have a factory installed flaw, we accumulate corrupted data from multiple untrustworthy sources, suffer day dreams and delusions and crash in a fit of rage for no logical reason. We then reset, automatically reverting to factory settings, erasing or overriding all that we have learned as modern educated rational humans. We revert to tribalism, feudalism, nationalism, we become xenophobic, over religious, revert to magical thinking to name only a few flaws. Our minds are clearly inferior to anything we can build ourselves in our more lucid moments. 

Artificial intelligence then seems to be a gift that modern man has given himself, a blessing, a loyal servant, an autonomous machine that requires no nutrition or rest, but works tirelessly and constantly to ensure our comfort. 

Ever since man was beaten at chess by a super computer, a game some thought only clever humans could master, humans have been divided into two camps: those fearlessly embracing AI as the way of the future and the tool with which injustice and poverty and wars and money and work would all be eliminated leaving us only to enjoy existence for what it is, and then there are those who reject AI as either a) the work of the devil and b) those who worry AI would achieve such levels of awareness and understanding that it would see the elimination of humans as the logical answer to our planet’s over population crisis. I tend to be of the first camp.

When I look at our road systems, and I do see roads as systems composed of vehicles, humans, open paths and obstacles, I see the futile and time consuming and fuel wasting maneuvers of human drivers and wonder: “what if AI was in charge of this system”. AI would excel at driving simply because it would use pure reason and follow the rules in expectation that other AI drivers would do the same. Thus, AI could plan and make calculations based on predictable road conditions and driver reactions to execute the program that would get the vehicle and its passengers to their destinations in the least amount of time and with as few wasteful maneuvers as possible and follow the shortest path, thus conserving fuel. So, why aren’t cars being sold today with AI drivers installed as standard? That is a very reasonable but not very human question to ask, and there lies the rub: we are human and irrational, we fear what we do not know or understand and assume that AI drivers would create road chaos and endanger lives. We are emotional magical thinkers with irrational spontaneous reactions.

When I look at a government structure, for example, a system in which accountability has long been absent for decades, where there is lax application of rules and nearly no sanctions imposed on wrongdoers, where you have low paid frustrated employees who have long been used to people in their culture winking at small scale corruption, can I expect these employees not to partake in corrupt practices? As humans, who rationalize evil as necessary or part of a wider unchanging system, of course I would fully expect the vast majority of government employees to pursue corrupt practices. Imagine if AI replaced human employees in government and public sector corporations, AI takes the rules seriously because they are set as part of its operating parameters, AI is unbending and unwavering with regards to corruption and bribery. You cannot bribe a computer! So why don’t we have fully digitized government in the third world? Once again, the irrational human mind seems unwilling to sever all ties to winking and brown envelopes slipped under the door. We seem convinced that if we eliminate corruption we would be utterly miserable, unable to grow fat on its ill-gotten benefits.

I was at the gym today, a ritual that has become almost a daily routine. I have an excellent personal trainer who seems to know how far to push me, taking me to the limits of my endurance but no further. I asked him: “Do you think AI can in ten or 20 years replace the personal trainer?” It was like a bolt out of the blue, he hesitated, pondered a while but returned an answer of "absolutely not!" He seemed sure. Although, I’m sure in his own human mind he is probably digesting the implications of what I asked and maybe even wondering if it can ever actually happen. Of course, it’s going to happen, eventually! It’s only a matter of time before AI personal trainers welcome you to your own personal training space, a private space kitted out just for you, with motion sensors and infrared cameras and laser pulse readers and oxygen saturation devices to regulate all aspects of your training, measuring every measurable parameter, your pulse, breathing, perspiration, muscle fatigue. In the background, HAL, or something like, a voice from the dimly lit space booms out: “OK, let’s start with some squats!” How cool would that be?! Well, not so cool for all the personal trainers left out of work, right?! 

Well, no actually.

You see, by the time we are all put out of work by AI, AI global administrators would have abolished work itself, as well as money, wealth, poverty, injustice and fighting over scarce resources! Humans would be issued with shelters, food, water, clothing, all our basic needs, as well as health care and education and all we would have to do is enjoy a life of leisure and convivial company, sports and games, adventures, go to the theatre, the library, read for hours, or go on a trip, meet new people, add to our knowledge, expand our horizons, love deeply, fuck to our hearts content and then after a long happy life, die. Yes, AI would take care of us from cradle to grave. All the wars and competition over scarce resources would be ancient history as AI manages our resources and the terrible impact of our irrational activities on the environment in a way only a computer can, extremely logically and reasonably and without prejudice or favor. AI would solve all our problems. Now is that a dream or a nightmare?