Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humans

A share of these experts suggest the creation of policies, regulations or ethical and operational standards should shift corporate and government priorities to focus on the global advancement of humanity, rather than profits or nationalism. They urge that major organizations revamp their practices and make sure AI advances are aimed at human augmentation for all, regardless of economic class.

Evan Selinger, professor of philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, commented, "In order for people, in general, to be better off as AI advances through 2030, a progressive political agenda – one rooted in the protection of civil liberties and human rights and also conscientious of the dangers of widening social and economic inequalities – would have to play a stronger role in governance. In light of current events, it's hard to be optimistic that such an agenda will have the resources necessary to keep pace with transformative uses of AI throughout ever-increasing aspects of society. To course-correct in time it's necessary for the general public to develop a deep appreciation about why leading ideologies concerning the market, prosperity and security are not in line with human flourishing".

Nicholas Beale, leader of the strategy practice at Sciteb, an international strategy and search firm, commented, "All depends on how responsibly AI is applied. AI 'done right' will empower. But unless Western CEOs improve their ethics it won't. I'm hoping for the best".

Benjamin Shestakofsky, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in digital technology's impacts on work, said, "Policymakers should act to ensure that citizens have access to knowledge about the effects of AI systems that affect their life chances and a voice in algorithmic governance. The answer to this question will depend on choices made by citizens, workers, organizational leaders and legislators across a broad range of social domains. For example, algorithmic hiring systems can be programmed to prioritize efficient outcomes for organizations or fair outcomes for workers. The profits produced by technological advancement can be broadly shared or can be captured by the shareholders of a small number of high-tech firms".

Charles Zheng, a researcher into machine learning and AI with the National Institute of Mental Health, wrote, "To ensure the best future, politicians must be informed of the benefits and risks of AI and pass laws to regulate the industry and to encourage open AI research. My hope is that AI algorithms advance significantly in their ability to understand natural language, and also in their ability to model humans and understand human values. My fear is that the benefits of AI are restricted to the rich and powerful without being accessible to the general public".

Mary Chayko, author of "Superconnected: The Internet, Digital Media, and Techno-Social Life," said, "We will see regulatory oversight of AI geared toward the protection of those who use it. Having said that, people will need to remain educated as to AI's impacts on them and to mobilize as needed to limit the power of companies and governments to intrude on their spaces, lives and civil rights. It will take vigilance and hard work to accomplish this, but I feel strongly that we are up to the task".

R "Ray" Wang, founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research, based in Silicon Valley, said, "We have not put the controls of AI in the hands of many. In fact the experience in China has shown how this technology can be used to take away the freedoms and rights of the individual for the purposes of security, efficiency, expediency and whims of the state. On the commercial side, we also do not have any controls in play as to ethical AI. Five elements should be included – transparency, explainability, reversibility, coachability and human-led processes in the design".

John Willinsky, professor and director of the Public Knowledge Project at Stanford Graduate School of Education, said, "Uses of AI that reduce human autonomy and freedom will need to be carefully weighed against the gains in other qualities of human life (e.g., driverless cars that improve traffic and increase safety). By 2030, deliberations over such matters will be critical to the functioning of 'human-machine/AI collaboration'. My hope, however, is that these deliberations are not framed as collaborations between what is human and what is AI but will be seen as the human use of yet another technology, with the wisdom of such use open to ongoing human consideration and intervention intent on advancing that sense of what is most humane about us".

A professor of media studies at a U.S. university commented, "Technology will be a material expression of social policy. If that social policy is enacted through a justice-oriented democratic process, then it has a better chance of producing justice-oriented outcomes. If it is enacted solely by venture-funded corporations with no obligation to the public interest, most people in 2030 will likely be worse off".

Gene Crick, director of the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network and longtime community telecommunications expert, wrote, "To predict AI will benefit 'most' people is more hopeful than certain. … AI can benefit lives at work and home – if competing agendas can be balanced. Key support for this important goal could be technology professionals' acceptance and commitment regarding social and ethical responsibilities of our work".

Anthony Picciano, a professor of education at the City of New York University's Interactive Technology and Pedagogy program, responded, "I am concerned that profit motives will lead some companies and individuals to develop AI applications that will threaten, not necessarily improve, our way of life. In the next 10 years we will see evolutionary progress in the development of artificial intelligence. After 2030, we will likely see revolutionary developments that will have significant ramifications on many aspects of human endeavor. We will need to develop checks on artificial intelligence".

Bill Woodcock, executive director at Packet Clearing House, the research organization behind global network development, commented, "In short-term, pragmatic ways, learning algorithms will save people time by automating much of tasks like navigation and package delivery and shopping for staples. But that tactical win comes at a strategic loss as long as the primary application of AI is to extract more money from people, because that puts them in opposition to our interests as a species, helping to enrich a few people at the expense of everyone else. In AI that exploits human psychological weaknesses to sell us things, we have for the first time created something that effectively predates our own species. That's a fundamentally bad idea and requires regulation just as surely as would self-replicating biological weapons".

Ethem Alpaydin, a professor of computer engineering at Bogazici University in Istanbul, responded, "AI will favor the developed countries that actually develop these technologies. AI will help find cures for various diseases and overall improve the living conditions in various ways. For the developing countries, however, whose labor force is mostly unskilled and whose exports are largely low-tech, AI implies higher unemployment, lower income and more social unrest. The aim of AI in such countries should be to add skill to the labor force rather than supplant them. For example, automatic real-time translation systems (e.g., Google's Babel fish) would allow people who don't speak a foreign language to find work in the tourism industry".

Joe Whittaker, a former professor of sciences and associate director of the NASA GESTAR program, now associate provost at Jackson State University, said, "Actions should be taken to make the internet universally available and accessible, provide the training and know-how for all users".

John Paschoud, councilor for the London borough of Lewisham, said, "It is possible that advances in AI and networked information will benefit 'most' people, but this is highly dependent upon on how those benefits are shared. … If traditional capitalist models of 'ownership of the means of production' prevail, then benefits of automated production will be retained by the few who own, not the many who work. Similarly, models of housing, health care, etc., can be equitably distributed and can all be enhanced by technology".

David Schlangen, a professor of applied computational linguistics at Bielefeld University in Germany, responded, "If the right regulations are put in place and ad-based revenue models can be controlled in such a way that they cannot be exploited by political interest groups, the potential for AI-based information search and decision support is enormous. That's a big if, but I prefer to remain optimistic".

Kate Carruthers, a chief data and analytics officer based in Australia, predicted, "Humans will increasingly interact with AI on a constant basis and it will become hard to know where the boundaries are between the two. Just as kids now see their mobile phones as an extension of themselves so too will human/AI integration be. I fear that the cause of democracy and freedom will be lost by 2030, so it might be a darker future. To avoid that, one thing we need to do is ensure the development of ethical standards for the development of AI and ensure that we deal with algorithmic bias. We need to build ethics into our development processes. Further, I assume that tracking and monitoring of people will be an accepted part of life and that there will be stronger regulation on privacy and data security. Every facet of life will be circumscribed by AI, and it will be part of the fabric of our lives".

David Zubrow, associate director of empirical research at Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, said, "How the advances are used demands wisdom, leadership and social norms and values that respect and focus on making the world better for all; education and health care will reach remote and underserved areas, for instance. The fear is control is consolidated in the hands of few that seek to exploit people, nature and technology for their own gain. I am hopeful that this will not happen".

Francisco S. Melo, an associate professor of computer science at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, responded, "I expect that AI technology will contribute to render several services (in health, assisted living, etc.) more efficient and humane and, by making access to information more broadly available, contribute to mitigate inequalities in society. However, in order for positive visions to become a reality, both AI researchers and the general population should be aware of the implications that such technology can have, particularly in how information is used and the ways by which it can be manipulated. In particular, AI researchers should strive for transparency in their work, in order to demystify AI and minimize the possibility of misuse; the general public, on the other hand, should strive to be educated in the responsible and informed use of technology".

Kyung Sin Park, internet law expert and co-founder of Open Net Korea, responded, "AI consists of software and training data. Software is already being made available on an open source basis. What will decide AI's contribution to humanity will be whether data (used for training AI) will be equitably distributed. Data-protection laws and the open data movement will hopefully do the job of making more data available equally to all people. I imagine a future where people can access AI-driven diagnosis of symptoms, which will drastically reduce health care costs for all".

Doug Schepers, chief technologist at Fizz Studio, said, "AI/ML, in applications and in autonomous devices and vehicles, will make some jobs obsolete, and the resulting unemployment will cause some economic instability that impacts society as a whole, but most individuals will be better off. The social impact of software and networked systems will get increasingly complex, so ameliorating that software problem with software agents may be the only way to decrease harm to human lives, but only if we can focus the goal of software to benefit individuals and groups rather than companies or industries".

Erik Huesca, president of the Knowledge and Digital Culture Foundation, based in Mexico City, said, "There is a concentration of places where specific AI is developed. It is a consequence of the capital investment that seeks to replace expensive professionals. Universities have to rethink what type of graduates to prepare, especially in areas of health, legal and engineering, where the greatest impact is expected, since the labor displacement of doctors, engineers and lawyers is a reality with the incipient developed systems".

Stephen Abram, principal at Lighthouse Consulting Inc., wrote, "I am concerned that individual agency is lost in AI and that appropriate safeguards should be in place around data collection as specified by the individual. I worry that context can be misconstrued by government agencies like ICE, IRS, police, etc. There is a major conversation needed throughout the time during which AI applications are developed, and they need to be evergreen as innovation and creativity spark new developments. Indeed, this should not be part of a political process, but an academic, independent process guided by principles and not economics and commercial entities".

David Klann, consultant and software developer at Broadcast Tool & Die, responded, "AI and related technologies will continue to enhance peoples' lives. I tend toward optimism; I instinctively believe there are enough activists who care about the ethics of AI that the technology will be put to use solving problems that humans cannot solve on their own. Take mapping, for instance. I recently learned about congestion problems caused by directions being optimized for individuals. People are now tweaking the algorithms to account for multiple people taking the 'most efficient route' that had become congested and was causing neighborhood disturbance due to the increased traffic. I believe people will construct AI algorithms to learn of and to 'think ahead' about such unintended consequences and to avoid them before they become problems. Of course, my fear is that money interests will continue to wield an overwhelming influence over AI and machine learning (ML). These can be mitigated through fully disclosed techniques, transparency and third-party oversight. These third parties may be government institutions or non-government organizations with the strength to 'enforce' ethical use of the technologies. Open source code and open ML training data will contribute significantly to this mitigation".

Andrian Kreye, a journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Germany, said, "If humanity is willing to learn from its mistakes with low-level AIs like social media algorithms there might be a chance for AI to become an engine for equality and progress. Since most digital development is driven by venture capital, experience shows that automation and abuse will be the norm".

Mai Sugimoto, an associate professor of sociology at Kansai University in Japan, responded, "AI could amplify one's bias and prejudice. We have to make data unbiased before putting it into AI, but it's not very easy".

An anonymous respondent wrote, "There are clearly advances associated with AI, but the current global political climate gives no indication that technological advancement in any area will improve most lives in the future. We also need to think ecologically in terms of the interrelationship between technology and other social-change events. For example, medical technology has increased lifespans, but the current opioid crisis has taken many lives in the U.S. among certain demographics".

A founder and president said, "The future of AI is more about the policies we choose and the projects we choose to fund. I think there will be large corporate interests in AI that serve nothing but profits and corporations' interests. This is the force for the 'bad'. However, I also believe that most technologists want to do good, and that most people want to head in a direction for the common good. In the end, I think this force will win out".

A senior strategist in regulatory systems and economics for a top global telecommunications firm wrote, "If we do not strive to improve society, making the weakest better off, the whole system may collapse. So, AI had better serve to make life easier for everyone".