Does AI robots like 'Sophia' signal a massive threat coming very soon? Are humans really ready for it?

Technology is like a shape shifter. It is constantly evolving and changing in new forms. One day it could be a new i-phone and the next day it could be a new i-mac. However, there is a difference when the latest technology is not only a new i-phone or a new i-mac, but also a new robot. On April 19 2015, Sophia became the latest humanoid robot that was designed by ‘’Hanson Robotics’’. According to her AI developer, David Hanson, Sophia is capable of imitating human gesturers and recognizing facial expressions. But, that is not all. Sophia is also the first robot, who has a citizenship. And, Saudi Arabia is the first country to accept a robot as her citizen. Unfortunately, awarding this citizenship was not as pleasant as it was for Sophia, because some women complained that Sophia actually has more rights than millions of women in Saudi Arabia. Also, there are other critics, who are claiming that this simple act of granting a citizenship to a robot can ‘’underestimate’’ the importance of having a citizenship. So, could an AI robot like Sophia jeopardize our human identity?

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The AI Threat of All Humanity

Francesco Ferrari, Maria Paola Paladino and Jolanda Jetter were a research team that conducted two studies. The goal in both of the studies was to gain a better knowledge of the consequences that can occur by engaging robots in the society. They considered that the similarity between humans and robots is really concerning and it could have a negative impact on all of us. Being similar with an AI robot can really threaten our identity and our chance to be a unique and exceptional human being. So, in order to confirm this hypothesis, the researchers shared photos of robots with the participants. These photos included three types of robots. They were mechanical robots who had no human resemblance, biped humanoids that had a body shape similarity and androids. The androids were the perfect twin of a human being.

The results of the first study determined that the human look of the robot ‘’helped’’ in predicting the danger that could happen, by living in a robotic future. And, in the second study the research team concluded that androids were the ’hardest’ in the human-robot distinction. They were also recognized as the future ’’nightmare’’ of all human beings. These studies were published in the ‘’International Journal of Social Robotics’’. At the end the researchers believed that this theory “contributes to a better understanding of why people fear the impact of social robots’’. And, it helps them to finally identify the most ‘frightening’ robots.

However, besides identifying human’s most ’frightening’ robots, we also need to face some of the changes that AI is ’’cooking’’ for us. So, the question is: Are we ready for these changes?

The Future of Self-Driving Cars
‘’Waymo’’ is our hope for living in a self-driving future. It began in 2009, as a self-driving project of Google. Now it is an autonomous car company that uses self-driving technology to design vehicles that are able to ‘drive’ on their own. On 7 November 2017, the company officially began to test self-driving cars. They tested autonomous minivans on the public road in Arizona. And, later these minivans passed more than 3.5 million of miles across the US. Also, the company has taken more than 20,000 individual tests drives. So, even though ‘’Waymo’’ is still in a testing ‘mode’, they announced that their first self-driving vehicle will be released in 2020. “Fully self-driving cars are here’’, confirmed John Krafcik the CEO of ‘’Waymo’’. And, I believe that this first autonomous vehicle will not only signify the new era for the automotive industry, but it will also signify a new era for saving millions of life.

The Future of Cyber-Humans

‘’I really think in the future we are all going to be cyborgs. I think the human and the computer are really, really quickly becoming one tightly-coupled cognitive unit’’, claims Shimon Whiteson, an associate professor at the University of Amsterdam. He adds that humans will be more productive if they have the possibility of expanding their brain with a perfect memory or ‘’upgrading’’ it with an accurate calculator. But, Thomas Dietterich , the President of the Association for Advancement of AI , hopes that we will be more than just productive. ‘’For example, I hope that exoskeletons will allow me to walk when I am old and feeble. I hope that I can retain my sense of hearing and sight even as my eyes and ears fail’’, he said. According to him the combination of human and artificial intelligence is fascinating, because it has the potential of making us super humans. So, I believe that AI would be a great ‘assistant’ in helping us to do what we want to do or what we want to be.

The Future of AI in the Workplace

In 2013, Researchers at the Oxford University published a study of jobs that are possible to become automated jobs. Jobs like Library Technicians, Mathematical Technicians, Tax Preparers, Watch Repairers and others professions that share a mutual pattern of repeated and similar activities. On the other hand, the study also revealed the jobs that are less likely to become AI jobs. They are: Recreational Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Audiologists, Healthcare Social Workers and other careers that involve a human interaction. At the end the researchers concluded: "Our findings thus imply that as technology races ahead, low-skill workers will reallocate to tasks that are non-susceptible to computerization i.e. tasks requiring creative and social intelligence’’. So, this ‘’job robbery’’ from AI will actually ‘’push’’ us in finding a more creative and productive job.

The Future of AI in the Medical Care

While people are growing older, the need of AI is growing bigger. Taking care of these needs is actually taking care of senior needs. And, according to Antonio Espingardeiro, an expert in robotics, AI has the potential to ‘’meet’’ with these needs. To prove this, Espingardeiro has developed a model of elder-care robot. This robot is capable of providing basic care while communicating with doctors. He can supervise the elderly and make sure they take their medicine on time. ‘’We can have more home robots that can help people with these activities of daily living. Making sure people take their medicine, helping them prepare their food, and making sure that if they don't get out of bed someone is notified’’ predicts Matthew Taylor , a computer scientist at Washington University. So, it is true. AI has the potential. It is the potential to be a caring and thoughtful doctor.

Can AI change our World?

Creating machines that could make the world a better place to live is a real challenge. But, "There are very few people in the world that actually understand how to get machines to learn and think. Deep learning is still new.’’ indicates Quoc Le, a software engineer at Google Brain. Deep learning is the science for machine learning. It is also called ‘’Deep Neural Network’’ because it uses neural networks to process images, text and feelings. And, according to Le, as long as the deep learning develops in AI, people will feel more prepared to use it on global matters like climate change or poverty. "I'm confident deep learning isn't going to 'plateau' anytime soon and that it'll continue to grow rapidly’’ claims Andrew Ng, the cofounder of Google Brain. He clarifies that the idea of this deep learning is to create machines that will be able to make their own decisions. And, I am sure that when the AI starts to think independently, then our planet will also start to ‘’recover’’ from her own diseases and catastrophes.

Can AI become our Friend?

‘Pepper’ is the first humanoid robot that is ‘’capable’’ of becoming our friend. He was designed in Japan and he was programmed to develop his own emotions. By having his own emotions the robot is also capable of recognizing others emotions and that helps him to adapt or behave properly. Also, Pepper is created to communicate in the most natural way, by using his body movements and voice. And, that makes him more than just a robot. It makes him a kind and interesting companion. According to ‘’Softbank Robotics Corp’’, the Japanese company, this lovely companion went on a sale in 2015 and sold within a minute. They believe that Pepper with his emotional awareness and collective wisdom will evolve and become a great friend. And, I think that becoming friends with a robot can be an exceptional and amazing experience.

Concluding Thoughts

Having the ‘’hottest’’ tech ‘toy’ on the market is having a little piece of AI. It can be the latest model of digital camera or the latest model of i-pod. However, there is a difference of having an interesting tech device, and living closely with an intelligent machine. Living with an intelligent machine, for some people, is like living in fear. It is the fear that they will replace us, by constantly improving and replicating themselves. But, living with an intelligent machine, for other people, is like living in excitement. It is the excitement of investing in their development and the excitement of observing their evolution. However, it is still early to determine whether robots will be our friends or foes. So, I just hope that we will do anything we can to create a friendly and caring AI.

References:

• Ryan Ayers , (2016) ‘’The Future of Artificial Intelligence: 6 ways it will impact everyday life’’ , http://bigdata-madesimple.com/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-6-ways-it-will-impact-everyday-life/
• Zara Stone , (2017), ‘’Everything You Need To Know About Sophia, The World's First Robot Citizen’’ , https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/11/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sophia-the-worlds-first-robot-citizen/#ee9436c46fa1
• Shirin Jaafari , (2017), ‘’Saudi Arabia has a new citizen: Sophia the robot. But what does that even mean?’’ , https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-11-01/saudi-arabia-has-new-citizen-sophia-robot-what-does-even-mean
• Guia Marie Del Prado , (2015), ‘’18 artificial intelligence researchers reveal the profound changes coming to our lives’’ , http://www.businessinsider.com/researchers-predictions-future-artificial-intelligence-2015-10
• Angad Singh , (2015) , ‘’ ‘Emotional’ robot sells out in a minute’’ , http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/tech/pepper-robot-sold-out/