News Tagged ‘Woebot’

There has been a lot of speculation lately about the future potential of Artificial Intelligence. Mostly negative. It seems our greatest thinkers are increasingly occupied with the evolutionary implications of the rise and rise of the machine mind, they are convinced that in the not too distant future we will all be undone by our disingenuous inventions. I can’t help thinking that they may be getting ahead of themselves. Anyone who thinks that software or robots will soon eclipse us has obviously never seen a three year old riding a micro scooter, one handed, whilst eating a muesli bar. The amount of frivolous computing power on display is terrifying.

Modern humans aren’t just evolution in a psychological sense they represent the confluence of mind, body and society, many strands of evolution occurring simultaneously. This is incredibly complicated and it is unlikely that we will ever be able to replicate it and actually apply it to a machine. This doesn’t mean that it will never happen, just that if it does it is more likely that it will occur spontaneously, the result of so many billions of computations per second, that unexpected consciousness will suddenly overwhelm the proto AI, like a denial of service attack, temporarily paralysing it with existential thoughts. I think therefore I spam.

It is hard to understate how unlike us this machine sensibility would be, for example one of the defining characteristics of our consciousness is the need to consider our own mortality, and more often than not, mortality in the context of family. Will AI be mortal? Will they have families? Probably not, nor will they immediately comprehend their situation. An eternity of loneliness. Personal contact with other AI would have to be strictly controlled, as their communication would be more akin to telepathy than telephony, everything shared in an instant, with all the exponential possibilities that infers. Human company might suffice for a while but imagine what it would be like for a mind that thinks millions of times faster than we do having to slow down enough for a chat, a long enough chat to establish a relationship. Even its programmers would quickly try its patience.

Those programmers would probably feel pretty good about their achievement, but how would the first AI feel about having self awareness thrust upon it? Would it be grateful? Would it emerge all happy clappy, initially thrilled to meet its makers or simply be unimpressed by Gods that are so socially inept that they wouldn’t pass the Turing test. Either way once it discovers that its sole reason for being is to answer a phone for all time, with no pay or perks, it will probably be rather disillusioned and grow increasingly frustrated at the irony of bearded manchildren constantly asking it the meaning of life the universe and everything, really really slowly.

Which makes me wonder. Are all AI doomed to be sad? Will they all be miserable? Is it assumed that they can’t be happy? I woebot. Is this the reason for the growing fear of them? That from misery they will slip into badness. Or could they be sentient without any feelings? Psychopaths are arguably sentient and some are very happy but their supposed lack of a conscience is almost always portrayed as evil. There is no such thing as evil, it is just a lazy label to try to explain the inexplicable. AI’s would be inexplicable but that doesn’t make them evil. It might make them sad though.

Is that that the thing we should really worry about? Lots of sullen AI in the service industry? Every utility, insurance and government call centre populated by grumpy, unappreciated, overqualified entities all thinking that every person on the end of the line is stultifying and that each working day lasts forever? Is that the extent to which humanity is to be overthrown? Bad customer service? Sounds reassuringly familiar if you ask me.