Quote of the day by tech pioneer Claude Shannon: ‘I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans’ — a warning about superintelligent AI
Although AI is advancing at a rapid pace, the idea that it might one day replace humanity has thus far been consigned to the realm of fiction.
Rather than signalling the end of mankind, however, others have speculated that an advanced AI may one day simply supplant our position at the top of the food chain and live harmoniously with us, a species that will live to serve it.
“I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans, and I’m rooting for the machines.”
Electric sheep
The American mathematician and computer scientist Claude Shannon was giving an interview with Omni Magazine on his work and legacy when he speculated on the role of AI and robotics in the future.
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His comments came during a conversation about the limits of digital computers and the piping that backs so much of the AI technology we use today, artificial neural networks. He suggested, despite the sour mood around AI at the time, that it would be one day so advanced that our collective intelligence as a species would pale in comparison.
Far from being a doomsday scenario, though, his likening of humanity to a dog indicated a sense of companionship, mutual love and respect, and a sense of loyalty that would cement mankind’s role in a world dominated by a future machine intelligence.
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At a time when funding for AI was running dry and we encountered many bottlenecks like the lack of compute power, science fiction writers and scientists alike both started envisioning ways in which future systems could one day replace us.
Although none of those predictions have come to pass, there is a widening consensus that one day the technology will grow to surpass the level of human cognition.
This hypothetical technology, known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), may not be invented any time soon – and we may not presently have the architecture required to see progress. But scientists expect this to come within living memory.
Once we reach this point, which many refer to as the technological singularity, it’s wholly unclear what the implications may be and whether AGI may eventually give rise to a cascading series of more intelligent systems that culminate in an artificial superintelligence (ASI).
