Artificial intelligence is the defined as the capability to perform human being tasks using a computer or any other computer controlled systems such as robots (Buchanan 34). These systems are manipulated to develop human attributes such as reasoning, learning, and discovery. Computers were developed in the early years of the 1940s and since then, they have continuously been programmed to perform complicated tasks such as playing different games with high proficiency and skills. They have also been used to develop mathematical theories. However, as complex program development for computers are discovered, success has not been achieved in developing a system that can fully replace human intelligence (Complexities 12). Some programs can only perform specific tasks but not the entire day to day activities of human beings.
The recent discovery of robots that can perform several human tasks such as driving cars, walking and talking indicates some achievements in the attempts to create a fully functional ‘human being’. Some robots have been created to assist human beings in risky circumstances such as during military activities. In the 1870s, a computer-controlled robot was created to throw missiles during the war (Morse 33). These developments have raised more questions than answers as one tries to wonder whether one day the world will be replaced with artificial intelligence. Another concern is how the law will be enforced on them to maintain the law and order of a normal society. The final concern is the question: what will happen when all our jobs are taken over by robots? These are some of the major concerns that need to be looked into as the world gets excited over the development of artificial intelligence.
This research paper attempts to analyze the future of artificial intelligence: the pros and the cons that the system will bring along as well as have a glimpse of how the world will be like with artificial intelligence around us.
Theoretical review
Artificial intelligence can be dated back to the early years. The ancient times were full of mythologies that entailed artificial human beings (Shapland, Knepper and Doak 23). The mythology of Cadmus for example, claims that he planted the teeth of a dragon that grew to become soldiers. In the Greek history, the Hephaestus narrative claims that he made a table that moved around using its own power. Archytas, who was a Greek mathematician, created a robot bird which was known as “The pigeon” in the 4th century which used steam for propulsion. The Indian mythology in the 11th-12th century talks about the king of Magadha who hid the Buddha’s remains underground. The remains were said to be protected by robots known as ‘Bhuta Vahana Yanta’. The robots protected the relics until the Roma Visaya kingdom was disarmed.
Aristotle, during his politics, advised that the only way that the world would achieve equality in human beings and eliminate slavery is through the use of automata. “There is only one condition in which we can imagine managers not needing subordinates, and masters not needing slaves. This condition would be that each instrument could do its own work, at the word of command or by intelligent anticipation, like the statues of Daedalus or the tripods made by Hephaestus, of which Homer relates that "Of their own motion they entered the conclave of Gods on Olympus", as if a shuttle should weave of itself, and a plectrum should do its own harp playing.”
The transition to industrialization brought about the use of complex machines that were used in the industries. The use of machines also necessitated the invention of electricity which was used to run them. Power machines were now used in the industries. By the 20th century, the invention of the machine that resembled a human being began (Truby, Wehner and Grosskopf 56). These machines resemble the physical appearance of a normal human being as well as their movement and reasoning. These robots were first used in manufacturing plants to perform production activities with minimal human intervention. The success of the industrial robots in the 20th century to perform their tasks encouraged the development of more sophisticated robots that use artificial intelligence.
The pioneer of the artificial intelligence work was Alan Mathison Turing who was a British Logician. He explained of a computer that would record memory and a scanner that would capture the memory through reading and write more symbols. The scanner receives instructions from a program in symbols. Turing referred to this concept as the stored program and later came to be known as the Turing machine. The modern computers are an actualization of the Turing machines (Buchanan 54). He became a government cryptanalyst in England during the World War II. He built a computing machine that contained a stored program until the end of the World War II in 1945. Turing discovered that computers had the ability to learn from past experiences and use guiding rules and principles to solve problems. This process was referred to as the ‘heuristic problem solving’.
Logical reasoning and problem-solving in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has slowly been replacing “frozen software”- which is the software that is unable to learn from experiences and is limited to what has been programmed. This frozen software can only be improved by updating them when changes happen (Truby, Wehner and Grosskopf 66). The concept of logical reasoning and problem-solving has been the main idea that the research on artificial intelligence has focused on. A program known as Logic Theorist was developed to help in proving the mathematics principles by Bertrand Russel and Alfred North Whitehead who were British mathematicians and philosophers. At some instance, one proof given by the Logic Theorist program was more comprehensive than that developed by these mathematicians. Shaw, Newell, and Simon created a program known as the General Problem Solver abbreviated as GPS. The program which began to be used in 1957 was able to solve complex puzzles by the use of the trial and error method (Hill 55). The limitation of this program, however, was its inability to learn from the past experiences. The intelligence of the program was limited to what the programmers had fed the system with.
In 1981, Takeo Kanade developed an arm that was directly driven. Wabot-2 was later developed in 1984. The robot had two feet and 10 fingers on its arm. Wabot-2 had the ability to read music and also to walk along another person.
By 2005, self-driven cars had surfaced but were not successful enough to compete in the motor industry. None of the cars was able to complete a 240 km course (Shapland, Knepper and Doak 77). The Honda Company also introduced a robot with unique capabilities and characteristics. The robot had the ability to interact with human beings. TOMY, in 2007 developed a robot that could walk on two feet like a human being and would perform some entertainment actions under “Special Action Mode”. In 2011, Robonaut 2 was launched to help astronauts during their space trips. The advancement of these robots will assist astronauts to carry out their scientific discoveries.
In 2017, a robot known as Sophia was awarded a Saudi Arabian nationality during the Future Investment Summit (Buchanan 109). The action raised controversy as many questioned the implication of the granted citizenship; whether Sophia was allowed to marry or participate in elections as other nationalities. It is also unclear whether the failure of the robot to function will be considered as murder. Many industries have adopted the use of robots to perform some of their activities and are considered more efficient and effective than human beings. They are also used to perform activities that are deemed risky or tiresome to human beings. They are commonly used in the transport, manufacturing and assembling plants. Mass production of goods is now possible at a cheaper cost for most industries. EMRBots and OpenMRS software have also been widely used to represent human beings artificially (Truby, Wehner and Grosskopf 89).
The invention of a soft robot by researchers from Harvard University has marked another step towards creating a fully functional human robot. The robot can swim, crawl and grasp objects around them but cannot respond to or be sensitive to nature. With this limitation in mind, another bunch of researchers from Harvard has discovered a way of embedding the soft robots with sensors that are receptive to temperature, touch, pressure, and movement. The use of sensors in robots has been a great challenge as most sensors are fixed. The use of an ionic liquid will help solve this problem (Morse 157). The liquid is conductive and as such, will sense and send signals to the sensory parts of a robot. The liquid will be printed directly within the system of the robots in 3D form. The 3D printing technique was developed at the Jennifer Lewis lab. This technology also involves the integration of many features within the soft robot body. They also embedded many sensors so as the robot can sense many senses such as contact, curvature, temperature, and pressure. The multiple sensors can also detect the deep and light touches.
Advantages of artificial intelligence
The first and the most important advantage of artificial intelligence is its ability to adapt to changes, something that the frozen software has been unable to do. For example, the tax software has been programmed to perform limited instructions subject to what the programmer has put. He or she cannot transfer all the knowledge on tax preparation that he or she has in mind to the software as this knowledge is acquired on a daily basis. The programmer can therefore only feed the software with part of what is currently in his or her mind (Shapland, Knepper and Doak 45). The alphaGo program, on the other hand, was developed by competing against human beings with a great proficiency of the game. The countless games played led to a skillful player who had greater knowledge than that of human beings. Those who played against alphaGo regularly improved their playing skills.
In a situation where more manpower is required, the use of robots has been of great help. The use of military robots has helped the military personnel in carrying out their military activities. In the case of factories, the use of robots has helped increase the level of production significantly with less human intervention. They have created cheaper, accurate and more reliable alternatives to human beings.
Disadvantages of artificial intelligence
The key principle of any computer controlled device is ‘Garbage in garbage out’. The information that is fed to computer software is what will determine its performance. Some programmers have fed the software with objectionable data that creates robots that are racist, sexist among other undesirable characters. Programmers with evil intentions may create robots that may harm other human beings.
Another disadvantage is that the artificial intelligence systems have not been able to perform tasks that require contextual and complex knowledge. It is therefore limited to certain domains that are not complex.
Future implications of artificial intelligence
The military department would greatly benefit from the use of artificial intelligence. It can be used for training purposes. For the personnel who use fighter jets, the system can be manipulated to create unexpected enemies or unpredictable situations. This intelligence can also simplify loads of data collected from surveillance cameras.
Artificial intelligence could also be used to solve problems that are logistical in nature or to automate an attack during military operations in unmanned or manned areas (Hill 34). The development of weapons can also be sped as well as their optimization using this technology. Target identification is also an important aspect of the military. The creation of a system that can identify the target before they strike will help during wars. The defense secretary James Mattis, during a trip to Amazon, suggested that the defense department should adopt the artificial intelligence technology.
The natural language program such as the Alexa by Amazon has enabled communication with human beings using the normal language. The NLP program can help to take orders or instructions from human beings without the need to type on a keyboard. This technology and the facial recognition system are been currently in airlines.
The risk associated with artificial intelligence is the fact that it cannot be trusted. This is because it cannot be understood in the first place (Buchanan 203). It cannot, therefore, be used in key areas such as some departments of the security system. The dependability of the system on what has been keyed in is also a major concern. The performance of a system is based on the person who feeds data to the program.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence remains to be the most controversial topic in the modern world. As more inventions continue to take place, more concerns are raised regarding the ability of human beings to survive alongside robots with artificial intelligence. Different scholars have tried to define intelligence, with its meaning evolving daily. However, it is not clear whether, in the near future, artificial intelligence will be able to match the human intelligence. The invention of robots has continued to scare human beings as they feel that they are slowly being replaced with these artificial beings. Some professions have however embraced the artificial intelligence concept as it will help to ease their tasks. The Department of Defense, for example, led by the Defense secretary James Mattis suggested that the department should adopt the technology. The invention of NPL has also brought about a system that can interact with human beings using the natural language.
Works Cited
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