The AI Arms Race

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that whoever develops artificial intelligence first will conquer the world. Are we on the brink of an AI arms race and what can we do to make sure AI works for the greater good?

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Some say artificial intelligence will transform our planet. Vladimir Putant
says harnessing AI is the path to ruling it. I'm
John and Strickland, and this is tech stuff daily. Artificial
intelligence is a hot topic of discussion. While it might
conjure up thoughts of humanlike robots or super intelligent machines,

(00:25):
the term artificial intelligence is actually a really broad one.
It encompasses everything from basic functions of intelligence such as
voice recognition, and goes all the way up to concepts
like cognition and self awareness. Perhaps because of this broad definition,
discussions about AI are also all over the map. Some
people tout the ability of AI to help us accomplish

(00:47):
difficult tasks or to offload more tedious work onto machines.
Others point at AI as being a potential existential threat
for all of humanity. Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind such
companies as Tesla and space X, has famously spoken out
against developing AI without some sort of strong guiding principles.
Musk's argument is that AI poses an enormous risk to humans.

(01:09):
It doesn't have to be super intelligent to be a
problem either. Take the concept of weaponized AI, for instance,
This could take many forms. One example might be military
robots with fairly simple AI. That AI could look for
enemy soldiers or vehicles and direct a robot to fire
upon them. Such a weapon would be a powerful tool

(01:30):
for a nation to use against enemy forces, and it
might mean that countries possessing that capability would be more
willing to enter into conflicts. After all, the soldiers are
made out of metal, glass, and plastic. They're expensive, but
they're disposable. If you can put robots against an enemy
and keep your people safe, you might be more willing
to enter into that armed conflict. Or you could develop

(01:52):
artificial intelligence designed to infiltrate and sabotage enemy infrastructure. Rather
than controlling a physical robot, these program ms would attempt
to penetrate, spy upon, or disrupt systems like power grids
or other critical infrastructure. Security firms like Semantech have already
warned the public that hackers had successfully compromised several energy

(02:13):
companies to an alarming degree, and that if hackers so wished,
they could potentially cause massive blackouts across major sections of
the United States power grid. And automated intelligence that can
behave in a similar way would be incredibly dangerous. None
of this requires the artificial intelligence to have anything remotely
similar to human intelligence, but if it is possible to

(02:34):
make machines think for themselves, that could be even more risky.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that whoever becomes the leader
in this sphere, that sphere being artificial intelligence, will become
the ruler of the world. Puton seems to suggest that
AI will be the next big arms race, and there
are a lot of contenders pushing toward developing ever more

(02:54):
powerful AI besides Russia, including China and the United States.
Over at the United Nations, discussions about weaponized a I
have begun. A group of more than one technology experts
send a message to the U n to call for
a ban on autonomous weapons. The message, in part read
that if development in that space continued, it would be
very difficult to reverse direction later on. In the meantime,

(03:17):
weaponized AI could pose an enormous threat to vulnerable populations,
and that's assuming everything is working properly in the first place.
The United Nations has a rescheduled meeting of government experts
to talk about AI that will happen in November. The
meeting was rescheduled because some of the member nations had
yet to pay their dues in September when the meeting
was originally supposed to take place. While AI could potentially

(03:40):
cause a great deal of harm, there's no denying it
could also have a positive impact on the world if
used responsibly. For example, IBM S Watson platform has been
working with healthcare professionals to help doctors diagnosed and treat patients.
Autonomous vehicles have the potential to prevent thousands of deaths
from car accidents caused by human error. Abots are taking

(04:00):
on more jobs that traditionally are dangerous for humans to perform.
There are many applications of AI that are clearly beneficial
to humans as a whole. The question about whether AI
will ultimately be a boon or a threat to mankind
seems to hinge largely upon how we are determined to
implement it. If, as the group of technology experts argue,

(04:21):
we place strict limitations on the use of AI in
military applications, we may say that artificial intelligence is the
most important technological advanced human beings have made since the
invention of fire. If we do not heed those warnings,
we may say it's the most destructive tool ever created.
To learn more about artificial intelligence in all its forms

(04:42):
and applications, subscribe to the tech Stuff podcast. The show
publishes every Wednesday and Friday with a deep dive on
big topics in the technology space. Also, I throw in
a lot more jokes. That's all for today. I'll see
you again soon. Wal Wal won