Have you ever thought about the impact of artificial intelligence on our society? Do you know what AI is? In this article, I will try to explain it to you and together, we will try to understand if people are aware of its exponential growth by looking at the results of this questionnaire. First of all, I would start by explaining what artificial intelligence actually is. If you type the sentence “artificial intelligence is” on the most famous search engine that we all know, you will discover so many things.
AI on Google
As you can see from the picture above, there are some doubts whether it is a good or bad thing, if it is a threat or not. This means that people don't have a clear idea about it. As Jay Wheeler said in his book "2050: Being Human In The Future", we appear to be approaching a point where everything is growing so rapidly, something is going to need to change in order to continue. Knowledge is doubling extremely quickly, but as mere humans we’re not able to process information faster than we could thousands of years ago. We will need a super intelligence to process and manage all the information from the world or we will need to merge with machines.
In an article published by Forbes.com, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, urges caution on AI development. "With this opportunity comes the need for tremendous thoughtfulness and responsibility as technology is deeply and irrevocably interwoven into our societies." he said. "While I am optimistic about the potential to bring technology to bear on the greatest problems in the world, we are on a path that we must tread with deep responsibility, care, and humility."
There are many companies, all over the world, which are using robots for marketing purposes as if they were real people. An example is the campaign launched by Sprint company with Evelyn, a female super-intelligent robot acting like a teenager who makes fun of others and publishes selfies on Instagram. The telecommunications company introduced her during its Super Bowl LII commercial. A smart move which had a huge media exposition typical of every commercial showed during one of the most famous sport events in the USA.
Another example of companies using artificial intelligence is IKEA, the Swedish home furniture company, which hired a robot to make job interviews. In 2017, a Russian company launched Vera, a robot who is able to speak both in Russian and English. She is able to make more than 50k interviews per day and for this reason she has been bought by over 200 Russian companies. Do you really could imagine to make a job interview with a robot? Do you imagine feeling anxious and sweating in front of a device that can immediately perceive what are you thinking about? How can a robot evaluate my preparation? How does she know if I can play that role for which I am a candidate? Maybe, this may seem absurd and unjust but that's what's happening. After all, it's a great way for companies to save money and time. And we all want to save them, don't you? However, it must be said that the final decision is still expressed by human beings, but I don't think it will take so long to have a selection process made entirely by robots.
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Web Summit via Sportsfile: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/38240096521
Maybe, someone of you will be thinking about Sophia, the first human-like robot. Well, she is an example of the extraordinary power of artificial intelligence. She is one of the most similar robot to man ever made, the most advanced of the Hanson Robotics company in Hong Kong.
"I was built for empathy and compassion, and I'm learning more and more. I love all sentient beings and I want to learn to love them better and better" she said.
Sophia is covered with a special silicone rubber with a very similar appearance to that of human skin and is able to reproduce more than 62 human facial expressions. The female android has been the focus of media attention all over the world and has participated in many high profile interviews. One of the most famous and entertaining is surely the one with Will Smith, in which the American actor tries to get an appointment with Sophia. Unfortunately, neither the charm of the handsome actor nor the dream location of the Cayman Islands have impressed her.
If you would like to find out if people are aware of the exponential growth of AI in our society, check this article in which I share with you the results of a survey made last year.
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- A.
