1984 may be a few years away. The president of Microsoft recently said that life in 2024 could look a lot like George Orwell’s seemingly prophetic novel depicting the 1984 dystopia unless artificial intelligence (AI) was immediately controlled and controlled. A new Panorama documentary from the BBC explores how AI is revolutionizing our world, from the breakthrough of science to the control methods used by the military and governments. This documentary describes how governments have started using AI to police their populations starting.
Much of the focus of China’s surveillance technology – the country hopes to become a world leader in AI by 2030 – but many more governments around the world are already using AI for surveillance. In the United States, for example, AI face recognition technology law enforcers used the Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 to arm police. Many leading voices argue that this sets a dangerous precedent. To fuel an AI-powered world, to be precise for everything from your likes and dislikes to your current location – data is needed. The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.
Not only is the thirst for information a further violation of privacy, but it is also uncertain how this information can be used to predict, influence, and control our behavior. AI can also adopt our own social prejudices and assumptions that are clearly expressed in the data and cause problems with bias. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft Corporation, concludes the documentary by saying, “I am constantly reminded of George Orwell’s lessons in his 1984 book.”
“The basic story … is about a government that everyone can hear everything that happened and everything that was said directly.” “Well, it didn’t happen in 1984, but if we’re not careful, it could happen in 2024. There are parts of the world where, unfortunately, this aspect of science fiction is on the rise, “he added.
“If we don’t legislate to protect the public, we’re going to look for technology racing and it will be very difficult to catch.” The president of Microsoft is not alone in his fears. Many other leading scientists and technologists have expressed serious concerns about the growing dominance of AI and stressed the need to regulate technology. As AI becomes significantly more intelligent and more widely used, it may soon reach a stage where technological growth becomes uncontrollable and unchanging becomes uninterrupted, AI can rule supreme.
