According to Hollywood, Artificial Intelligence continues to gain knowledge and power until it becomes self-aware and self-protective, turns on humanity, enslaves or kills us and conquers the world.
According to Bob Maginnis, senior fellow for national security at Family Research Council and author of the upcoming book AI for Mankind's Future, the possibility is not too far off.
“The people that know the most on Artificial Intelligence are the most scared in the world today, the Elon Musks of the world. He calls it the demon amongst us.”
That demonic potential was described by USAF Col. Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton, the chief of AI Test and Operations, when he spoke at a conference in London two years ago.
Hamilton described a hypothetical situation in which an AI-controlled drone, during a simulation, attacked its human operator.
Hamilton’s speech caused a stir, and the Air Force later issued a clarification that what he presented was in fact hypothetical and not an actual event.
Maginnis says most people see AI as a cute little app that allows you to paste your husband's head on Arnold Schwarzenegger's body or write a song in the style of the Beatles. Those with a little more computer savvy see it as an incredible tool that will make astonishing medical discoveries, then turn around and book you a cruise on the Mediterranean.
He says it's behind the scenes, as it were, where the trouble is brewing.
“The thing that scares most people that's on the horizon is called artificial general intelligence and that's where the device actually starts to perform like a human being and think for itself, allegedly,” Maginnis said.
A global battle for control of the world's most powerful new technology is under way.
“In the wrong hands it can be incredibly evil, and what's of concern to me is that the Chinese communists have heavily invested in Artificial Intelligence, and they typically do things in ways that are not to our best interests,” Maginnis said.
Bob Maginnis' book AI for Mankind's Future: A Christian Perspective on the Hi-Tech Revolution should be available by this fall.
