Is Stephen Hawking right to be concerned about Artificial Intelligence being a potential threat to humankind?

Question

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/09/stephen-hawking-ai-reddit-ama/

I asked Cortana, and did not find her answer reassuring. 

Answer 1

No, because by the time it actually is something to worry about he'll be long dead.

Comments

@ Gun   but then that would suggest that he is only thinking of himself , where as I Believe his Fears lie with Future Generations , when he as you say will be long gone. That Man is Extraordinary.

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Just being a a realist. If anyone would appreciate that, it'd be him.

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@ Gun:    Of course it would not affect Hawking directly, but since he has children and grandchildren, it's perfectly natural that he would be concerned about their (or their progeny's) future.

Concern for future generations is not rare: "...and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity..."

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I guess I'm just not as taken with him as you are.

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But the fact remains that he issued his warning about AI.  If he did not do it out of concern for future generations, than why did he?  Just to be in the news?

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Stephen Hawking, like most anyone else, speaks most of the time because someone asked him a question.

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Quite true, but he hasn't only spoken in interviews, he has also published articles on the subject.  Why would he do that if he weren't actually concerned?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-transcendence-looks-at-the-implications-of-artificial-intelligence-but-are-we-taking-9313474.html

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No offense, but I'm done with the conversation.

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As you wish;  no offense taken.

Answer 2

He's a pretty cluey man. If he's worried then he may have good cause.

The question came up in the most recent book of the Millennium series, The Girl in the Spider Web. David Lagercrantz (who guest-authored the book following Stieg Larsson's death) made the point that if AI continues to improve, as it will, and if computers grow ever faster, as they also will, we will end up with a computer that is actually more intelligent than we are. If that were to happen, would it take instructions from us? Scary question.

That's not what concerned Hawking, of course, and may be confined to fiction ... but it's a worry.

Comments

Indeed it is.  When and if AI is someday to humans as humans are to say, chimpanzees, why would such thinking machines listen to us?

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You obviously haven't met a couple of my relatives. Chimps are smarter. :)

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Well, yes, there are bell curves, and a few chimps probably are smarter than a few humans.  I was thinking in terms of averages, not outliers.   :-))

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@ TINK      that's TRUE , if these Machines of Future Technology are Programmed to know they have Superior Minds

(the equivalent of a Mind I mean)  then they may Think us INFERIOR and therefore our OPINIONS could be DISMISSED.

The thing is with us Human Beings , we are more than the information that's fed to us from the day we are Born , we are highly emotional Beings.

That FACTOR would have to be taken into consideration :)  and how in the Hell are they going to Create an Emotional Heart in one of these ?



Great question  btw  :)

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@ Ser:    Yes, but that's exactly where the danger lies.  As long as computers are rigidly programmed only to do certain tasks and nothing else, there is no problem.  But what happens when someone discovers how OUR brains are wired and wires a computer the same way, except with much greater capabilities, as well as the capacity for independent thought and action?  

Remember what happened with HAL in "2001"?   As he was being turned off, he said, "I'm afraid,"  and "My mind is going. I can feel it."

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@ Tink      I feel that Human Emotions have to be taken into consideration , if these Robots are to play a larger part in Future Generations Lives. If not then I Believe there could be serious consequences.

We Exist in a World that runs on Emotion.
Government Laws come about because of Human Emotions.
Decisions are made by us everyday because of Human Emotion.

Someone has just this second been Murdered because of Jealousy or Greed or Hatred.

I don't think unless Artificial Intelligence is actually programmed , it will ever over ride it's total capacity for understanding , like this Sci fi  movie but then who knows ........I could be wrong.  

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@ Ser:   Yes, the imponderables lie in what happens when self-awareness (an ego, if you like) and a wish for self-preservation are programmed into these silicon-based life forms.
Then anything can happen.

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@ TINK

@ TINK

It's enough to make ones Imagination run Wild , to think if that was possible , then Man/Woman need never be lonely again.

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@ Ser:   LOL!   Umm... I hope they put more realistic flesh on these robots of the future.

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@ TINK   I think he's got another Android on his Mind , the distant look in the Eye is unmistakable  lolz

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@ TINK   hahahaha    dare I say Women have settled for worse synthetics   

Oh I'm not posting an image for this thought  
Dan will give me a time out  :P



hahaha    now that's funny  XD

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@Ser:  You're right about his distant look.  He's thinking, "Dad was right... I should have stuck with my own kind.  And to think I was engaged to Cortana."

@ Ser:   But a battery running a clock will last much longer than that same battery running a vibrator!

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@ TINK   lolz  his own kind  XD that Cortana gets about  

Details , details  :P



hahaha   XD

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@ Ser:   Yes, Cortana isn't as innocent as she looks.

What the good doctor didn't tell the lady in the picture was that she only gets to use the vibrator in his lab while he's doing an MRI scan of her brain.

http://jezebel.com/5859785/watch-the-worlds-first-movie-of-the-female-brain-during-orgasm

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@ Tink   hahaha Screw that .......pardon the pun :P

 I thought my volume was down , sound would of been good for that particular vid.

So that's what our Brains look like during Climax , gonna watch that again and add the moans in my head   lolz

?

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Did you hear about the lass who was made love to by a linguist who spoke four languages?

?itok=SnswlSxv

Her passions were NOT soon extinguished,
For his skills were superb, most distinguished.
Of tongues, he spoke four,
And her snatch yearned for more,
As he SAID, "I'm a MOSHT cunning linguisht."

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@ TINK   



hahaha    Love it

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@ TINK   is this one of yours  ? , saw someone call you a Poet Laureate on here

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Yes, all the limericks I post are original.

(the more rabid libs on SH, who were often the subject of the limericks, would flag them, but to no avail)     :-)

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@ TINK  You Clever Girl , "ugh"  there is always some with no Sense of humor babe , I feel pity for them because I'd be lost without mine.

I look forward to more of your Limericks and they'll never get flagged on here , oh lolz I bet they did their Nut when they were Created in their honour XD

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@ Ser:    Oh, no flags, but I've gotten a few down votes here.   :-)

For example (third post down):

http://www.ihavesolved.com/6063/have-you-ever-been-to-an-art-gallery#a6083

btw,  I hope Dan doesn't see our chat here -- he might give us both timeouts.  :-D

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@ TINK  Quite a few of us have 3 DV's but no more than that and that DV by DW1011  has to be a mistake , have never seen them DV anybody

hahaha  he'll probably crack up , he started chatting to me on SH because I made him laugh , so I know he has a SOH

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Lol, that's good to know about Dan.  :-)

Answer 3

Yes

Answer 4

hahaha  That Cortana is getting more offensive by the day   I'm gonna read this link you posted for us now.

Comments

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@ GUN     hahaha

Answer 5

I am skeptical about this theory of his.

Comments

What specifically makes you skeptical?

Answer 6

I don't know of anyone who's come up with an viable argument to the contrary, so yeah, I believe his fear is valid.