OPINION:
As a physicist, I read “The AI race will continue with or without U.S.” (Web, Sept. 23) with great concern.
As humans, we develop technology to aid us in our challenging lives and to probe and better understand nature’s incredible mysteries. Yet with this technology comes the responsibility to use it for humanity’s benefit, not to control or destroy humanity.
The key problems of artificial intelligence are tied to overreliance on this imprecise, garbage-in-equals-garbage-out technology designed by humans and thus susceptible to error and failure. Systems that are controlled by robots/AI can fall prey to runaway “positive feedback” that can be destructive if not stopped.
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If these systems are connected to one another or lack alternative, independent backup systems and kill switches, then catastrophic failure can occur — as it did in airline computer systems and the Northeastern power grid.
Though AI may have some benefit for humanity, I would strongly caution about overusing it for the sake of intellectual laziness or in an effort to replace the thinking workforce.
The brain is the most complex, creative machine in the universe, hands down. I worry that by not using our minds to solve problems and think outside the box — and using unreliable AI instead — we will become nothing better than the robots we created. We will lose the gift of creativity and nonlinear thinking that made us unique in the universe.
Yes, the AI race will continue with or without the U.S., but that race may end over a cliff.
Professor of physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Henderson, Nevada
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