Project2 #2

In conjunction with my style, the sources I utilized is another element that makes my project effective. In this memo, I decided to look at many publications and videos to shape my claims and follow-up with solid evidence. I looked to scientists, historians, and authors to gain my credibility and find where similarities of information lie between them. For instance, I found many articles stating information along the lines of, “….as machines are getting closer to acquiring human-like language abilities, they are also absorbing the deeply ingrained biases concealed within the patterns of language use…common sense and logic.” (Devlin 2). This concept is repeated in a similar fashion with other publications I investigated for this project. I have five different sources explaining the potential dangers of AI and human merge. Some in the form of looking at the algorithms and programming of devices. To do this, I gave a synopsis of what Cathy O’Neil’s TED Talk discussed. I write, “Cathy argues that there should be a clear objective and success criteria when generating algorithms. Data we put into it is what we get out of it.”. I then reiterate this statement with another quote from an author saying, “Garbage in, garbage out” (Buranyi 1). That way, I am telling the reader that this is a crucial point to consider, while also supporting my thesis at the same time. By listing several sources, I’m hoping this would resonate with the audience and build trust in what they are reading. To conclude, my analysis paragraph considers the dangers of AI and represents how uncertain we are about our future. Both the sources and style of the paper help drive the claim that we do see a future with machines, but that might not be a happy ending for humanity.

I appreciate all the opportunities we receive for feedback. It is helpful to have another set of eyes to look over your work and make it even better. I like adding notes and comments to other people’s papers as well because it allows me to read what other people are saying about the prompt. I can have a look into their writing and learn how they are analyzing the topic at hand. One of my peers, Shaya Master, wrote, “In the task segment, I understand you are going to go into the dangers of AI but it could also be helpful to go into how AI will help our existence as well. This way, you can help explain that the course could look at it from both perspectives…”. As a result of this, I started to rethink my thesis. My thesis only considers one side of an argument and I don’t address the opposing side in any part of my paper. To resolve this, I added in a paragraph considering a different perspective on singularity, but more so in a positive way. One where humans could benefit from AI agents, and not one where they take/control over the world. Shaya is right in the sense that it is important to look at an issue from different angles. This is especially true when giving recommendations on material professors should teach about in the future. I realize that it is better to stay objective when teaching others in a classroom setting and to communicate on information, rather than opinion. Another great piece of feedback I received was from Mia Deangelis. She commented, “I had a hard time finding some of the claims. Be sure in your analysis paragraph(s) to use the format of stating the claim, backing up with evidence and explanations, and closing it off by restating the claim and tying it into what AI can teach us about ourselves.”. While I agree with her comment about how to structure an analysis paragraph, I think my paper already incorporates this checklist. At the start of my analysis section I add, “Humans see infinite possibilities for AI in the future, but also in a way that can threaten human life.”. This is what I was intending to be my claim, to argue that humanity is in danger with the rise of AI machines. I then go on to mention why I think humans are at risk. I provide evidence into this excerpt stating how careful we need to be when developing these interfaces. The algorithms behind them are important. If we don’t have the same aspirations and goals as these new machines, our future might be in trouble. In general, the feedback was a great checklist to consider for the project moving forward.

In this project, I wanted to take a deeper dive into the resources we were given to read and watch. I challenged myself to find similarities and differences in every piece of literacy. From there, I picked up on underlying themes, and drew conclusions from them. I did this by the S.W.A.P. and R.A.I.D.S. method to digest articles. The hardest part in doing this was with some of the videos I listened to. Some were more controversial than others, but I didn’t want that to reflect in my thinking and overall writing for this project. My goal was to form my own opinion of what AI teaches about ourselves and try to aim my paper towards the worries people have about AI being integrated into society. I did my best to list potential futures AI could have; replacing our workforce, incorporating subjective views into its programming, etc. Good introductions, I’ve learned through this class, makes all the difference. It gets the audience excited for what they are about to read!

I tried to tailor my essay towards Dr Cara Cilano. I made several headings, so he would know what to expect at each paragraph. I made sure to keep the paragraph you had and add my own introduction in the following section. I wanted to show that I knew AI and further introduce the topic and thesis I had in mind for this memo. I even mentioned the term of ‘singularity’ in my introduction section for him to understand what it means, so I could reference it later in my piece. One thing I did a bit differently, is emphasized what a future might look like for us and machines. I wanted to list several views on opinions this might look like from scholarly articles, TED talks, etc. to provide a wholistic view. That tells the reader how unsure and extreme stances others have about the technological future. No one is sure what it will look like, just have educated guesses. The one thing they do agree on is the merge of humans and AI agents. All in all, I hope you enjoy this essay and can’t wait to hear your feedback!

Thanks,

Samantha

TO: Dr. Cara Cilano, Director, Integrative Arts and Humanities at MSU FROM: Samantha DATE: August 6th, 2019 SUBJECT: Insights from IAH 206 and Recommendations for Follow-up Course on AI Called “What AI Teaches Us About Ourselves and Our Future.” According to two University of Oxford Researchers, “47 percent of total US employment is in the high-risk category, meaning that associated occupations are potentially automatable over some unspecified number of years, perhaps a decade or two” (Frey and Osborne 265). Yet, the authors also note, “While the computer substitution for both cognitive and manual routine tasks is evident, non-routine tasks involve everything from legal writing, truck driving and medical diagnoses, to persuading and selling. In the present study, we will argue that legal writing and truck driving will soon be automated, while persuading, for instance, will not” (255). Also, in a 2017 Pew Survey, the findings suggest that by 2026 “[t]ough-to-teach intangible skills, capabilities, and attributes such as emotional intelligence, curiosity, creativity, adaptability, resilience and critical thinking will be most highly valued” (Rainie and Anderson 13). As a budding expert in AI, I want to draw on my understanding of AI to provide some recommendations for curricular changes for the course called “What Robots Can Tell Us About Being Human.” Because AI is an extension of the human mind, AI teaches us that humans have faith in the future with one that will merge humans and machines, but one that could also threaten human life. As a program that contributes to teaching and fostering the critical skills needed for success in the twenty-first century, I hope my insights here prove useful in future curricular revisions and help IAH meets its pedagogical goals.

A Brief Background into AI:

Through multiple readings and video analysis, there is an underlying theme authors, scientists, etc. have in common when talking about the outlook of the technological future. Many argue that there is still much research to be done and that we should prepare for the worst. But why is there such a focus now, and why is AI such a controversial topic? Those are all great questions that I set out to answer, or at least give some insight into. There are many directions scientists are going when developing AI agents. Some more so go in the direction of replacing humans, while others are going in the direction of incorporating them into society, for the benefit of humans of course. Those are two sides that I recommend being addressed in this class. With many countries racing to be at the forefront of AI, there is much pressure for the U.S. for example, to respond. AI, I’ve come to read through several publications, have spent a lot of time discussing the dangers and ‘singularity’ of such technology. To describe what ‘singularity’ is, in more forward terms, is when machines and humans come together to create a super-intelligent reality. I hope I can help you to pave the way you organize your curriculum through this paper.

The Future of AI:

To determine the best method of analyzing how AI is an extension of the human mind is through various videos and publications I’ve come to read these past few weeks. To help make course suggestions, I have read and watched several pieces debating this topic of AI. By doing this, I have established an understanding of this and how to answer the potentiality that humans might not hold the same importance or meaning in the world in the upcoming decades. What I mean by that, is now we will be forced to share a world with super-intelligent humans and who knows what that will look like. That is a bold statement, but the research stated in the ‘Analysis of AI & Humans’ will provide further analysis. Because AI agents have the capacity and capability to be smarter and more efficient than us humans, it poses a danger to our existence. Machines, as seen in the movie Her, directed by Spike Jonze, shows how an AI interface was able to constantly adapt to new situations and grow each day to a point where they didn’t need the host, or human, anymore to continue their growth mindset. This is one example of humans becoming obsolete in the presence of AI machines. If we don’t have a purpose to these new technological advances, who knows what might happen to us. Nicholas Gane describes this phenomenon in his article “Posthuman”. He states, “…posthuman: a time in which ‘humans are no longer the most important things in the universe’, where ‘all technological progress of human society is geared towards the transformation of the human species as we know it’…( Gane 432). We must align our goals and aspirations with the machines we build in the future. We as humans also need to be careful to not incorporate our biases into these new AI technologies, or else they can be racist or have other derogatory thinking toward groups of people, etc. These quotes provided above show how uncertain we are about the technological future and how we are focusing on the end to humans.

Analysis of the Merge between AI & Humans:

Humans see infinite possibilities for AI in the future, but also in a way that can threaten human life. Many authors, professors, scientists, are uneasy about the implications of this technology in the future. They are worried about our potential subjective views into it. This idea is further described in the Ted Talk given by Cathy O’Neil. In her presentation, she touches on how algorithms are being executed in everyday decisions. In her discussion, she talks about how algorithms are being built in AI interfaces. Cathy argues that there should be a clear objective and success criteria when generating algorithms. Data we put into it is what we get out of it. It goes with the saying of “garbage in, garbage out” as mentioned in the “Rise of the racist robots – How AI is learning all our worst impulses” article by Stephen Buranyi. He writes, “When the data we feed the machines reflect the history of our unequal society, we are, in effect, asking the program to learn our own biases.” (Buranyi 2). A study was set out to prove this theory by Buranyi. Researcher Joanna Bryson did this by studying the relationships between words. The study states, “It (program Bryson was studying) trained on millions of pages of text from the internet and began clustering female names and pronouns with jobs such as ‘receptionist’ and ‘nurses’…how closely the results mirrored the real-world gender breakdown of those jobs in US government data, a nearly 90% correlation.” (Buranyi 3). This quote reiterates the biases that could go into these future machines if we aren’t careful and take out our opinions. I believe in some cases, though, that it is easier said than done. People can do this subconsciously and can wrongfully categorize humans/things into buckets. To help combat this, authors like Buranyi as mentioned above adds, “…the more information we feed these sophisticated computer algorithms, the better they perform.” (2). By feeding more information into these machines, the smarter they become. That might alleviate some of the worries that AI machines could potentially be biased, but that also can present a risk to humans. As stated in previous paragraphs, as machines have more drive and learning capabilities, they could replace humans. They could become our mental health counselors or even doctors for that matter. Author Hannah Devlin explores this idea in depth when she states, “….as machines are getting closer to acquiring human-like language abilities, they are also absorbing the deeply ingrained biases concealed within the patterns of language use…common sense and logic.” (2). This quote shows how robots can eventually develop human-like features and take over some of our everyday jobs. From there humans will be at a disadvantage and at the bottom of the food chain. However, to get to this point, it will take time and that is important to note. Teaching about the use-cases of AI and the extremes of it would be a great start to this class. As more AI interfaces are developed, the more intelligent they become and that can be a threat to human life if they don’t have the same intentions as us in the end.

While I have been focusing on the darker side of AI technology, I also wanted to make sure I note the other side of this issue. Yes, there are dangers to any technological advancement, but there are also some pros I would like to call out as well. Firstly, AI can make our lives easier. For example, in the movie Her (Jonze), Samantha, the OS system, was a great addition to Theo’s (main character) life. She proofread his work, sent emails, and executed other clerical tasks for him. It shows the possibility of humans and machines living in harmony where both sides are benefitting. Also, AI can help to make decisions for you. Tracking your likes, Google searches, emails, social media are things that can be picked up. Some see that as a perk because then you only see what you like and see your interests in things like pop-up ads or suggested items that are at the bottom of your Amazon account. However, some see this decision-making tool as losing control to make their own decisions. The video, “Humans, Gods and Technology – VPRO documentary” comments, “they (Google) knows you better and will now recommend what to study, who to marry and other important decisions to make in life.” In general, AI has both positive and negative consequences. We see advancements in AI in many ways and shows how unsure we are about this concept in general and tend to look at the negative side of things. I believe that is because we as humans want to prepare for the worst and have a gravitation to present the destructive side to things, especially in the media or on news broadcasts.

Key Takeaways:

All in all, I hope this synopsis provides some areas of material to touch on with your class. I tried to address the future implications of AI and how that might affect us, humans. This explores the thinking behind what AI could become in the next upcoming decades. Some say this change could occur as soon as 2040-2050, while others say the opposite. Needless to say, milestones have been achieved in the advancement of AI and will continue to develop through the years. Even though I am arguing about the potential dangers to the incorporation of AI, it is also important to address the other side. We as humans want to prepare for the future, but we are working towards an outlook that puts us humans at a disadvantage. What we have learned about ourselves is that we see the likelihood of becoming outdated in our future because of the rise of super-intelligent machines.

Works Cited: