THE ETHICS OF OUR TIME VIII

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Right at this moment, there are efforts under way to create computers with Artificial Intelligence; face-recognition, voice-recognition, expressive interfaces. The thing that’s a bit disturbing about this is that we don’t even know what “mind” is, and we’re trying to re-create it. Doesn’t that seem just the tiniest bit unwise? I hear computers learn better when they get some rest every day. Am I the only one who finds that a little scary?

I don’t know much about how computers work, but I do have a good idea how we do. Humans have a strong tendency to anthropomorphize already. Our computers become our treasured friends or malevolent enemies dependent on how well they work (which is usually the operator’s fault anyway). Now what happens if our computers become capable of returning our affections and frustrations? Will they kill themselves if you can’t work them? I mean, I assume they have access to their own hard drives…or whatever drives are in use at the time. Will it, like Data, feel bad if it can’t get “the joke?” Will it be okay to leave them alone for a few days while we go to the beach? How will we feel when we need an upgrade? Like we’re loosing a pet? Shouldn’t we be thinking about what we’re creating?

Our record, even in highly-intelligent humans, isn’t that good; they’re sometimes defective in unforeseeable ways. The genius composer can be a social idiot. Not to mention physicists (just kidding, they generally don’t compose).

Programming will become as complex as DNA. We’ll probably need a whole diagnostic lab just to check code. At what point will it make sense to have computers take over making computers, and how will they evolve after that? Thank goodness for Asimov’s three laws – what were they, again? Interesting times.

But the biggest question is, does experiencing emotions equal life? If something is afraid to die, is it murder to kill it? Vegetarians of conscience, I ask you especially, when will a machine become considered alive?

Most horrifying of all is that “tipping point” often portrayed in science fiction, where people begin to elect to have themselves replaced with electronic simulations, whether physical or virtual. I really hope that’s one we don’t have to worry about for now, but who knows? Again, we need to think about where we’re headed.