The world is agog with frenetic, heightened competition among developed nations for the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in frantic efforts to overtake others in all sectors and all strata of human endeavours.
This involves, among other things, the creation of automated processes and ‘thinking’ machines loaded with artificial brain cells and molecules to learn, think and make decisions in place of humans.
AI imprints in advanced nations span across social, economic, industrial and defence sectors. Much of the excitement about AI, as with all new scientific and technological discoveries, is positive and promises great benefits to mankind:
Especially in education, healthcare, entertainment, manufacturing, agriculture and communications, AI promises massive qualitative and quantitative increases over current human capacities.
In a few countries, AI is poised to take over the classroom and the newsroom, while factory workers are increasingly being replaced across industrial production lines!
All these promise positive outcomes as labour may be largely freed from most production cycles and released toward social activities, leisure and voluntary humanitarian services.
The disturbing side of the race to deploy AI technology has to do with the flip side of the human soul.
History shows that man is double-minded and will take advantage of every advantage over others to exalt himself, constantly exploiting every opportunity to undermine everyone else.
Just as the discovery of gunpowder and firearms led to widespread wars of conquest and all manner of horrific crimes, which still go on in all corners of the world, the emerging AI technology is already being deployed to create new artificial armies and weapons to devastate rivals in the wars of the future!
Machines that will make autonomous decisions on war and peace and in battlefield operations are being created to replace humans. Autonomous wars waged by monstrous, soulless robotic warriors equipped with weapons of mass destruction are in the works. We will come back to this later.
In other sectors, the negatives of AI are increasingly emerging. On social media, we are witnesses to fake video clips of prominent personalities programmed through AI to speak or even broadcast scripts written by criminals or outright enemies.
In education, child development experts are increasingly worried about the eventual moral outlook of children taught by robotic “teachers” programmed to pass on knowledge without feeling the emotional and psychological state of the human recipients.
Coming together to learn in schools may take the backseat as many students may choose to learn online from home. The social function of the school environment in moulding character and blending life experiences among children from varied social and cultural backgrounds may be lost.
That could produce zombie adults whose only knowledge of life is what they learnt from their individual homes, and who may end up as ‘automated’ graduates produced by artificial, robotic instructors!
And unless governments and societies make quick policy decisions on what to do with human workers replaced and rendered redundant by AI ‘workers’ the emerging scenario may unleash major social unrest and upheavals, particularly in developed nations, forcing unions and unemployed youths with bleak career prospects to wage relentless struggles for social relevance and survival against governments.
In the defence industrial sector, as noted earlier, we have seen AI drones cause enormous destruction on the Ukraine battlefield. Automated drones that can ‘think’ and ‘take’ decisions on what target to destroy are being fielded in the Ukraine war.
The ugliest face of AI is rapidly emerging: Monstrous mechanical AI armies ranging from dogs, turtles, and various species of artificial insects equipped with lethal weapons to wage war against enemy nations are being created.
Humanity is marching headlong in a breakneck race to an uncertain and unpredictable era of machines that may rule over humans who created them!
This may eventually include AI robots making decisions over war and peace, life and death!
Governments and societies need to act quickly before it’s too late!
AI frontline pioneer Geoffrey Everest Hinton recently ruminated over his pioneering role that led to the development of the emerging technology, and warned mankind to act quickly to regulate AI to avert perceived dangers the technology could pose to humans.
Without concerted and prompt regulatory action, AI could quickly transform into the ultimate Frankenstein’s monster created by the fictional character Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s 1818 science fiction novel.
Victor Frankenstein’s monster became a threat to his creator, threatening to overcome his maker!
AI appears to be the fulfilment of Madame Shelly’s prophetic novel! Humankind will only have itself to blame because the lethal consequences of unrestrained, unregulated AI will be a prophecy foretold.
Maku, former minister of information and communication, writes from Abuja.