AI is the Future of the Human Race

Artificial Intelligence in modern-day society has always been depicted as malicious and evil through movies such as the Terminator, Avengers Age of Ultron, and Ex Machina. All of these films depict AI going rogue and turning on humans. However, AI can be extremely helpful when it comes to solving problems in the everyday world and doing tasks with precision and quickness. In modern-day society, AI has been making tremendous leaps through Google’s Deepmind and their latest creation of AlphaGo. AlphaGo is the first computer to beat a professional Go player on a full 19 x 19 board. Go is a game with so many different arrangements of game pieces that it was previously thought that no algorithm existed that could play the game in a reasonable amount of time.

AlphaGo uses a Monte Carlo search tree algorithm to find its next move based on previous knowledge that has been “learned” by machine learning, more accurately by an artificial neural network. In order to gain knowledge on what moves the computer needs to play in order to win, it essentially plays a copy of itself tens of thousands of times very quickly. Through this process, the computer “learns” the moves needed for given game states. AI is extremely remarkable due to the fact that it never forgets anything that has been “learned.” Moreover, with such extreme change comes extreme worry. What does the rapid evolution of AI mean for the future of humanity? AI has been an extremely controversial topic because of the fear of unemployment. Although AI may cause fear, it should replace human workers because of the many benefits AI could do for society and the human race.

The fact is that AI is better at performing tasks than humans are. AI offers access to information with speed and accuracy when we need it. From driverless cars to creating music, AI is everywhere, and we cannot do anything about its technological progress. The adoption of AI is quickly becoming essential for businesses to stay competitive. The intention of AI is to stop us from doing repetitive tasks, giving us more time to follow other interests and grow businesses with more interesting, progressing actions. As a human species, we have always looked for a way to make tasks as effortless as possible, and AI is just another stepping stone to making tasks more undemanding. AI does tasks that humans cannot do with unimaginable speed, such as analyzing massive amounts of data so that workers can more effectively do their job. AI is a massive benefit to society because it increases our efficiency.

Furthermore, AI elevates the condition of mankind. Humans are best-served innovating, not doing tedious tasks. Machines can do these tasks, and this is where AI becomes truly beneficial. The rise of AI will better our lifestyles and generate more productive businesses. Precious hours will not be wasted answering emails and doing data entry. AI can be applied to every aspect of human life. With the implementation of AI, smart homes will reduce energy usage and have improved security, marketing will be more targeted, and health care will be better because we will have better diagnoses. Technology has the ability to solve more problems, answer more questions, and innovate with a number of inputs far beyond the capability of the brain. This can certainly be used for good rather than evil. AI is the biggest opportunity in history for humans to extend their creativity and ingenuity, which will ultimately elevate our condition as a species.

Lastly, while AI destroys jobs, it also creates them. It’s not just the domain of repetitive tasks that are affected by AI. It’s any number of white-collar jobs as well, including lawyers, doctors, writers, journalists, and so forth. However, according to the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress, “the basic fact is that technology eliminates jobs, not work. It is the continuous obligation of economic policy to match increases in productive potential with increases in purchasing power and demand. Otherwise, the potential created by technical progress runs to waste in idle capacity, unemployment, and deprivation.”

Moreover, we all see the headlines: AI is at risk of taking all our jobs. However, this statement is more fiction than fact. AI encourages evolution in the job market and, with proper preparation, can be positive. Working citizens will still work, but rather with the help of AI. The combination of humans and AI will be the workforce of the future. Ultimately, to say that AI and robots and 3D-printing and any other significant technology won’t replace many human jobs is incredibly irresponsible. However, this does not mean that humans won’t adapt and even thrive in more creative, social, and meaningful work.

Artificial Intelligence is certainly a controversial topic. Technology has always had an interesting place in society, but a high tech is always a tool created to aid the human race. Technology is always an instrument that is to be used to step towards success. The reason for this is that technology is often better at doing tasks than we are, and AI is no exception. Furthermore, the more efficiently humans can perform tasks, the greater the condition of our existence. Lastly, The main concern is that AI will lead to a tremendous amount of unemployment. However, when working side by side, an AI and human workforce could prove to be unstoppable.

AI has always been seen as villainous and corrupt, but this is only a manifestation of humans’ inherent fear of change. Humans feel threatened by a form of technology they feel is going to become superior to them. Because of this inherent fear, humans are ultimately willing to decelerate the evolution of society. If humans use history as their guide, they will see that the improvement of technology in society tends to elevate the condition of mankind and allows for an overall improved quality of life. As the use of AI flourishes, mankind will find it to be an explicit advantage.

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