Artificial Intelligence, a destructive goodie(2)

In my earlier post with the same subject I raised the concern on AI from the perspective of common folks. Not long ago I came across an article from a knowledgeable scholar on the topic on whether AI and robots can overtake human being. Contrary to my view, he is quite optimistic that AI will not surpass human despite of the former's ever expanding capability. His argument is that AI is silicon based while life on earth, in all forms including human's, is carbon based. While carbon based life has evolved into a stage that it has so many complexity of senses and feelings but AI even cannot perceive the feeling of hurt, so AI does not has the mental capacity like sensation, emotions and imagination that are needed to develop into the higher form of intelligence just like what human being has, let alone the development of self-consciousness that could turn out to be rivalry against human being.

In his view, even if silicon based AI can be evolved into life but it will be of no match with the carbon based life. His argument is that the existence of the millions species of carbon based life on earth now is the evidence that it is the best manifestation of natural selection should there ever had been any life-forming competition between the two chemical elements. That scholar is one of the respected persons in my life but I can't agree with him on this aspect.

Carbon based life is no doubt flourishing on this planet now but if we view the history on earth and also that of the universe, a million or even billion years is not more than just a blink of an eye. Dinosaur has once ruled the planet for 180 millions year but it is human being which is in control now. Considering the shear size of dinosaur, they would not think, if they ever did, this tiny primate can make such an achievement. Existing dominance might not and most probably cannot persist forever when the time line is long enough.

AI is still in its very infancy. Although we have seen much progress on its development but it is just like an embryo comparing to a fully grown adult if we put it to the metaphor of silicon based life to carbon based life. I am not sure whether AI will finally develop to has senses resemble to that of human's but I am pretty sure when AI's self learning runs long enough it will eventually has the awareness of self-consciousness. It is just like the process that a baby's brain will go through.

When AI is aware of self and external then it will unavoidably start thinking of the well-being of self. Silicon based life is then at the brink of emergence, cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), if this philosophy applies. When there is life in a bacteria which does not think at all then we just cannot deny it is not life when silicon based AI can really think but not just playing algorithm. Naturally this form of life is quite different from that of the counterpart especially the way of reproduction.

I would say the relationship between the carbon-based life and the coming silicon based life is that  the former develops a platform for the emergence of the latter.  The essence of the existence of silicon based life is electricity. Without it no computer can ever run. Electricity was discovered not more than two centuries ago and it is human being ,ie carbon based life whom invented it. It is also human being who invented and nurtures AI to become a monster. Some may say AI is still under the control of human's hands but is it? Image one day Google, banking system, transport system, telecommunication system do not work simply we try to disconnect AI then what type of living will it become? Let alone AI at this stage is only in its primitive application. Can someone image how AI affects human's living 50 years or a century later? It is not difficult to think who is going to control whom.

The fact and reality are that it is a path of no return when the box of Pandora was opened. Human will rely on AI more than ever in the future. The point is that at certain point the race between carbon based life and silicon based life will become unequaled. The information processing capability of silicon based life is much much much much way stronger than its counterpart and unfortunately we are on the info/data highway which we build on our own. On the other hand, most of the human's knowledge and experiences vanish after death but AI is immortal and it learns and evolves in much faster rate than that of human's. Human replaced dinosaur to be the ruler of the world and then our civilization is replaced by that of the AI's whom dwarfs us because of the limitation on the design and structure of carbon based. It is just about evolution of history, in term of light year.

Our existence is for the preparation and to give rise to AI civilization. Human discovered electricity that flourishes us and it is just electricity undoing us.