Today I learnt a very valuable lesson about humanity.
I’ve taken a leap towards understanding what “being human” means.
While we marvel at the so-called artificial intelligence of software like Siri and Cortana, we simultaneously fear for our privacy, and we shudder at the thought of autonomous weapons systems and rogue drones.
We need not fear machines. We need to fear those who steer them because those who control the machines pursue not death and mayhem but, rather, take aim at commercial targets. And what’s more human than greed?
Empathy.
Few living creatures have this trait, and it would be near-impossible to define, code and synthesize. We may build and power the machines but we are not their batteries.
The machines will not take over. Skynet is dead in the water.
As a human race, we’re safe.
What few people realise is that all research into artificial intelligence is really just the quest to quantify our very own humanity. #ai
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Basement Archaeology (@hmvh) June 26, 2015
RoboCop is a good enforcement droid because of his human elements.
Terminators are efficient killing machines because of their lack thereof.
Machines are tools, no matter how smart we think we’re building them. They serve humanity, not themselves — and certainly no cause higher than the zeroth law.
Any job that can be measured by productivity is a job humans should not be doing. Productivity is for robots. @kevin2kelly
A worker being replaced by a machine should be seen as an act of liberation but wage economy inverts it into a threat. @iand
A human factory worker will come to the aid of another who feels ill or collapses. Humans will revolt if working conditions become inhumane. Other drivers stop at the scene of an accident for no reason other than “because it’s the right thing to do”.
A machine will not help another unless doing so furthers its mission.
A machine will not help another if it breaks down. It does not serve the machine’s purpose unless it is specifically programmed to do so but it will stop due to lack of facility to repair the other machine whereas a human will go through all lengths to help another, even if lacking medical training or if under own duress. A human will instinctively risk his life for that of another human.
A machine will not help another because it feels pity or remorse. It has no empathy.
“I know now why you cry, but it’s something I can never do.” — T-800
I am human for I have compassion.
Image credits: vg247.com/Microsoft
