Are machines taking over? AI and the future of technology…

Technology innovations continue to drive workplaces and the market in the U.S. Artificial intelligence is now exceeding the human brain at several cognitive and that it will eventually do things better than even the most expert humans. New AI machines can learn, reason, plan, and act with intention, and they are coming smarter far faster than most people. Soon AI machines will be indistinguishable from human brains, before accelerating past them in nearly every way. Things are moving so quickly, in fact, that we have become desensitized to the pace of progress.

Some researchers think that AI is ushering in a new epoch where biological intelligence and computers will quite literally merge. This event the researchers call the singularity, which they see happening around 2045. The stakes of this epochal shift are high. Human survival is in question if we do not manage it effectively. One could argue that AI technologies are inherently dual use, meaning they can be wielded for good or bad. The question is of we can embrace this future and not fear it, and prepare to use AI technology positively as it will impact the economy, society, our biology and our way of life.

In the not-too-distant future, we will be able to augment our brains to become vastly more intelligent and extend our life span to 1,000 and beyond. Is this really possible? Some researchers and AI experts seem to think so and they argue that information technology creates feedback loops of innovation. Not all innovation is exponential though. Passenger airliners in the 1960s travelled about as fast as today’s jets. But today’s most basic smartphone, which cost around $50, would trounce any supercomputer from the 1960s. And things are not slowing down. Computations used to train a start-of-the-art artificial intelligence model has been doubling every six months since 2010, outpacing Moore’s Law, which says performance should roughly double every 18 months.

Inventors and technology gurus compare human brains to AI computers to reveal similarities. Whereas traditional computers perform operations sequentially, AI models work like human brains and complete multiple operations in parallel. Today’s AI models break down language into chunks, or tokens, and then rearrange them. And like people, modern AI is a multi-model, meaning it can answer queries in plain language but also create still images, video and even write computer code. AI is already impacting many industries, surpassing human capabilities, especially in health care. AI models can recognize patterns in huge datasets, leading to more accurate diagnosis of disease. AI simulations can complement clinical trials, reducing development costs and improving the efficacy of new drugs. Indeed, the FDA is now incorporating simulation results in regulatory approvals.  

Robotics surgeons can theoretically be trained on millions of surgeries and simulations, far more than the human surgeon could ever do in a single lifetime, while AI models can simulate new proteins that can unlock the mysteries of human biology. The techniques were used to accelerate solutions during the pandemic and the development of mRNA vaccines, likely saving many lives.

AI will also have an increasingly important role for jobs and the economy. There could also be disruptions in certain job sectors, for example in transportation, where machines would replace humans. Other jobs at such are telemarketers, insurance underwriters and tax preparers.  There will be a period of transition, where people will start working in other fields and this is part of the evolution of society. People might also work less, maybe the world is heading towards a 4-days work week? If machines are doing more of the work, it will undoubtedly lead to less work for humans. This is true also in warfare as has been evident in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, where AI drones have been heavily used.

The future is to some degree already here as AI is used and is getting used more and more. Many questions go to the heart of humans’ relationship to technology and our own self in this equation. It is clear that many lives can be positively impacted, and poverty can be reduced if the AI technology is used in a proper way. It can also help making inefficient organizations more efficient and cheaper to run. Are the machines taking over? Most likely yes unless you want to live in a bubble somewhere and live in the past. Some might choose that, but a majority will most likely embrace AI technology and a new way of living. AI can also be used in the field of energy, creating alternative energy sources and a cleaner planet.