“ Sorry to interrupt the festivities, Dave, but I think
we’ve got a problem.” — HAL 9000,
2001: A Space Odyssey
rtificial intelligence al- lows machines to process, synthesize, and compre- hend information. AI can emulate some functions of the
human brain to identify pat- terns and solve problems, to learn, grow, and change. The study and use of AI be-
gan in the mid 20th century, with astonishingly rapid ad- vancements. In recent years, there has been a notable pro- gression in AI language capa- bilities, with chatbots such as ChatGPT showing an odd yet complex ability to simulate text and conversation. Nearly every human being
on Earth has encountered a daily life benefi t of AI tech- nology. For some, that means rela-
tively minor perks, such as the convenience of facial recogni- tion to unlock a smartphone or pass seamlessly through a se- curity point, to order bananas or pay a bill. Other breakthroughs in ac-
tion or in the pipeline include self-driving cars, fl uid robotic limbs, and integrated medical records. And maybe you truly did
want those compression socks, or that Bluetooth-powered cat feeder, or that remote-con- trolled lawnmower suggested to you in your ad-clogged Ins- tagram feed. But what happens when a
self-driving car malfunctions? Who is at fault? What happens when a com-
puter draws an iff y medical diagnosis and the patient is de- nied the nuance and expertise of a human doctor? What about the relinquish-
ment of privacy, of subtly, of autonomy? Should chatbots really be
writing political speeches and legal arguments and 10th- grade papers? AI can help identify, track,
and trace pathogens, and per- haps even avert a developing pandemic. But AI, in the hands of a criminal, also can be used
to synthesize and spread those germs to actualize a pandemic. AI can streamline offi ces
and factories, but in doing so, knock lower-level workers to the unemployment line. These lists can go on as long
as a ChatGPT program can spew out bad poetry. This is why debates about AI have be- come heated and anxious, with some of the greatest minds in tech expressing guilt, remorse, and fear. “It’s very much a double-
edged sword,” business mag- nate Elon Musk told CNBC. “There’s a strong probability that it will make life much bet- ter and that we’ll have an age of abundance. And there’s some chance that it goes wrong and destroys humanity. “Hopefully, that chance is
small, but it’s not zero.” Yet some analysts are
pushing back on hyperbole, pointing out that AI is merely another form of computer software, written by humans for human use.
Mark Halperin is a Newsmax political analyst and author who has covered every American presidential election since 1988. He writes the daily newsletter Wide World of News.
62 NEWSMAX | JULY 2023
Author
AI WHAT IS IT?
P.61: DEM10©ISTOCK
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