Artificial Intelligences have been on our collective minds for decades. If a human were to create a fully functional artificial intelligence, would they be on the same level as a god, or would it be something different. Nor even the logistics of morality have been fully explored in this case. But as the world is ready to move on, to keep evolving, human – A.I. collaboration to be rewarded with $5 million.
The 2020 competition
If you are an exceptionally good programmer and you think you might be able to develop an artificial intelligence, you might just win $5 million; just not right now. Announced at the yearly TED conference which took place this Wednesday, the prize money will be supplied by X Prize and IBM.
Basically, the challenge is to have an artificial intelligence which could collaborate with a human in order to tackle some of the biggest challenges we’re facing right now as a species. The completion was born out of the desire to put a stop to the dystopian theory about AIs taking over the world.
Despite the final completion taking place during 2020’s TED conference between the final three competitors, we will be seeing teams competing every year until then for interim rewards, as well as for the opportunity to move on to the next round.
Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
Last year, a very big number of the world’s most intelligent and innovative minds signed a letter warning humanity about the impending robot uprising. It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds, as all the points were very well made, and the letter had a cautionary air instead of a tin foil hat, “doomsday is inevitable” one.
What made the letter most disturbing were the names attached to it, with Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk being among the most avid supporters of the idea. Of course, the billionaire geniuses behind it don’t promote abandoning the development of AI, but only advise us to be careful with what we develop.
According to the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots’ coordinator, the opposition isn’t about getting rid of the entire field, or about crippling the industry. Instead, she claims it’s about making sure that dangerous technology can’t make a go at it before we realize what’s happening.
And of course, the fear is totally justified. Films like the Terminator franchise or the more recent Ex Machina all talk about how dangerous an AI would be because of its lack of morals and binary way of thinking. But scientists are already working on something to get past that.
Image source: Wikimedia
