This fascinating article about human extinction includes a big section about artificial intelligence (AI) and the risks of creating a super intelligence.
It reminds me that so much of what I read on the subject focuses on the idea of a single, intelligent machine that could provide extraordinary decision making power.
I’m skeptical that AI will lead us in that direction though. Why would we use AI to create something so risky when the reason we’re doing it is to reach past or own cognitive limitations?
Instead, surely AI will be used to improve our own cognition, not create a new cognitive superpower.
It’s the same reason I’m not convinced by augmented reality (AR) yet. While Google Glass looks impressive I just can’t see it going mainstream. The only way AR will receive mass adoption, in my opinion, is through embedded technology – retinal implants, for instance.
It’s that evolution from wearable tech to embedded tech that will bring AR into the mainstream, and it will present humanity with the technological vehicle to use AI to enhance our own cognitive abilities, without the risk of manufacturing our own destruction.
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