Will artificial intelligence ever be a threat to humankind?

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) “leverages computers and machines to mimic the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of the human mind” (IBM Cloud Education, 2021). Therefore, we can assume that, similarly to humans, AI has advantages as well as disadvantages. But considering that one of the most common daily uses of AI is in translating a text from one language to another (European Parliament, 2021), why should we care about the risks you may ask? It is as though humanity stands before two doors; behind door number one, we would stop the production of intelligent machines and all our technology would cease to progress – we would be stuck, marking the end of this technological era, and most likely see one of the greatest failures in human history. However, it is against human nature to stagnate, so the only remaining option is behind door number two. There, we would continue to improve our technologies for years and years, until eventually, they start improving themselves, leading to the ‘intelligence explosion’ (Harris, 2016). Consequently, it is only a matter of time before we reach a new era – one where humanity could lose its place as the apex predator to a machine. In this paper, I will be assessing some of the potential risks of artificial intelligence and propose an alternative to them.