I will be back
Location: Universe 1241XB, Los Angeles,
Date: 1984.
A beefy and pumped Terminator, Series 800 Model 101, appears in Los Angeles. He was sent back
to 1984 by the rebellious computer system Skynet. His most pressing problem is to find some
clothes to wear. Right after he has a job to do.
In a not so far future, computers became sentient and started a nuclear war by hijacking control of
the US nuclear arsenal, launching thermonuclear warheads in a devastating attempt to wipe out
humanity.
A post-apocalyptic war takes place in the future where a resistance, led by the heroic General John
Connor, tries to win back their planet and survive the machine assault. Connor is the hero who is in
charge to rescue humanity from extinction, by gathering survivors to combat Skynet's forces.
To kill John Connor, Skynet sends back in time the Terminator, programmed to kill her mother
before she gives birth to the future mankind’s savior.
The former governor of California and body-building legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger, may well be
remembered for his iconic last line “I'll be back” from this film. Will he come back as promised to
destroy mankind?
Skeptics argue that AI advancements are shaping the world in some different ways from what
prophesied by Hollywood film-makers and philosophers. Today, AI programs are entertainment
applications for gamers, robot vacuum cleaners, and self-driving cars. So why should we fear a
future ruled by cold androids rather than a world where, for example, navigation systems take you
through faster and safer routes?
While a rebellious computer system that sparks our “Judgment Day” is not precisely what scientists
fear, there are indeed some connections between the highly intelligent technology being developed
and an unknown force to be reckoned with.
It is no secret at all that Artificial Intelligence is already making significant headway into our
houses, yet what we can experience are only early glimpses of the way the industry will change.
The kind of AI you have in your pocket is indeed something which left the research labs years ago,
once that it was tested to be safe and profitable. To understand the real power of today’s AI we
should have a look at something not available on the shelves, like for example financial
applications.
Once upon a time, brokers were the rulers of Wall Street. Do you remember the brilliant comedy
“Trading Places” where a well-to-do finance guy and a homeless smartass showed how one could,
in one hour’s work, afford a Lamborghini and hire Elton John to play at their house party? Forget
those times. Today, the no more best-kept secret is that most Stock Exchange’s transactions are
being governed by computer’s AI algorithms. Meaning, machines are not merely crushing numbers: they are actually operating on the market with thousands of operations decided by sophisticated AI
algorithms. To put it bluntly, who has got the best AI makes the big money.
Ready or not to live in a world where machines dominate Wall Street, a question is inescapable:
will the profit disappear if everyone developed a perfect AI? Short answer: yes. The reason for it
lies in the very source of profit, that is the risk. Assumed that risk disappears from the economic
equation, so does the profit. Ironically, the perfect money machine might kill money itself.
Talking about killing, what’s going on in military applications?
Today, some advanced countries, namely the US, already have drones and robots that are being
used in warfare. Currently, these drones require humans to stay in the loop; but as Artificial
Intelligence advances, it’ll be possible to remove the human control and have machines to make the
“kill decision” autonomously. Making the kill decision without human intervention means that a
computer, which is eventually spoofed, could attack humans precisely as Skynet did in the fiction.
Although a growing chorus of researchers warn us we should never allow robots to decide on
human life, there is no doubt that fully autonomous drones or cyborgs could be far cheaper,
potentially smaller, and much more efficient than human soldiers.
The bottom line is that, as the technology for creating more intelligent weapons is moving ahead,
the philosophical distinctions about who pushes the hot-button might become irrelevant; the only
difference between a human killer and a machine killer could be that the latter will perform its job
horrifying well.
Will we be able to prevent such craziness?
Date: 1984.
“The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind had raged
on for decades. But the final battle will not be fought in the future. It would be fought in our
present...tonight.”
A beefy and pumped Terminator, Series 800 Model 101, appears in Los Angeles. He was sent back
to 1984 by the rebellious computer system Skynet. His most pressing problem is to find some
clothes to wear. Right after he has a job to do.
In a not so far future, computers became sentient and started a nuclear war by hijacking control of
the US nuclear arsenal, launching thermonuclear warheads in a devastating attempt to wipe out
humanity.
A post-apocalyptic war takes place in the future where a resistance, led by the heroic General John
Connor, tries to win back their planet and survive the machine assault. Connor is the hero who is in
charge to rescue humanity from extinction, by gathering survivors to combat Skynet's forces.
To kill John Connor, Skynet sends back in time the Terminator, programmed to kill her mother
before she gives birth to the future mankind’s savior.
The former governor of California and body-building legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger, may well be
remembered for his iconic last line “I'll be back” from this film. Will he come back as promised to
destroy mankind?
Skeptics argue that AI advancements are shaping the world in some different ways from what
prophesied by Hollywood film-makers and philosophers. Today, AI programs are entertainment
applications for gamers, robot vacuum cleaners, and self-driving cars. So why should we fear a
future ruled by cold androids rather than a world where, for example, navigation systems take you
through faster and safer routes?
While a rebellious computer system that sparks our “Judgment Day” is not precisely what scientists
fear, there are indeed some connections between the highly intelligent technology being developed
and an unknown force to be reckoned with.
It is no secret at all that Artificial Intelligence is already making significant headway into our
houses, yet what we can experience are only early glimpses of the way the industry will change.
The kind of AI you have in your pocket is indeed something which left the research labs years ago,
once that it was tested to be safe and profitable. To understand the real power of today’s AI we
should have a look at something not available on the shelves, like for example financial
applications.
Once upon a time, brokers were the rulers of Wall Street. Do you remember the brilliant comedy
“Trading Places” where a well-to-do finance guy and a homeless smartass showed how one could,
in one hour’s work, afford a Lamborghini and hire Elton John to play at their house party? Forget
those times. Today, the no more best-kept secret is that most Stock Exchange’s transactions are
being governed by computer’s AI algorithms. Meaning, machines are not merely crushing numbers: they are actually operating on the market with thousands of operations decided by sophisticated AI
algorithms. To put it bluntly, who has got the best AI makes the big money.
Ready or not to live in a world where machines dominate Wall Street, a question is inescapable:
will the profit disappear if everyone developed a perfect AI? Short answer: yes. The reason for it
lies in the very source of profit, that is the risk. Assumed that risk disappears from the economic
equation, so does the profit. Ironically, the perfect money machine might kill money itself.
Talking about killing, what’s going on in military applications?
Today, some advanced countries, namely the US, already have drones and robots that are being
used in warfare. Currently, these drones require humans to stay in the loop; but as Artificial
Intelligence advances, it’ll be possible to remove the human control and have machines to make the
“kill decision” autonomously. Making the kill decision without human intervention means that a
computer, which is eventually spoofed, could attack humans precisely as Skynet did in the fiction.
Although a growing chorus of researchers warn us we should never allow robots to decide on
human life, there is no doubt that fully autonomous drones or cyborgs could be far cheaper,
potentially smaller, and much more efficient than human soldiers.
The bottom line is that, as the technology for creating more intelligent weapons is moving ahead,
the philosophical distinctions about who pushes the hot-button might become irrelevant; the only
difference between a human killer and a machine killer could be that the latter will perform its job
horrifying well.
Will we be able to prevent such craziness?
