‘It’s My Own Invention’
~Title of Chapter 8 in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass
As artificial intelligence (A.I.) develops, humanity’s strengths and weaknesses will increasingly be reflected in the machines we create. I couldn’t help but think of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass as I exited the theater after watching Alex Garland’s A.I. masterpiece, Ex Machina. Ava (Garland’s A.I. character) is the personification of Carroll’s words, especially the exchange between Alice and the White Knight over his horse’s anklets:
‘You see,’ he went on after a pause, ‘it’s as well to be provided for EVERYTHING. That’s the reason the horse has all those anklets around his feet.’
‘But what are they for?’ Alice asked in a tone of great curiosity.
‘To guard against the bites of sharks,’ the Knight replied. ‘It’s an invention of my own.’
Artificial intelligence is helping us (human beings) with “everything” from cooking and calculating to driving and flying. We are increasingly using A.I. because, in part at least, it can help us “guard against” our own mistakes in driving, flying, etc … for to err is human. A.I. is an ‘invention of our own’ to help us provide for everything we need (or want) and to guard against the bites of our own mistakes. However, what if, as some notable leaders in business, science and technology recently remarked, our own invention has a strong and devastating bite?
Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk all recently warned of the threat that artificial intelligence poses to human existence. While Musk characterized A.I. development as “summoning the demon,” Gates posted the following answer to a question on a Reddit forum: “I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don’t understand why some people are not concerned.” Dr. Hawking told the BBC in December 2014 that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”
Gates, Hawking and Musk all temper their ‘danger-Will-Robinson’ remarks, however, by explaining the potential benefits of A.I., if people are able to control and manage it well. As the Future of Life Institute (FLI), which received a $10 million donation from Musk, recently wrote in an open letter signed by Hawking, Musk and many other well-known scientists and technologists: “Success in the quest for artificial intelligence has the potential to bring unprecedented benefits to humanity, and it is therefore worthwhile to research how to maximize these benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls.” The FLI is calling for an interdisciplinary approach to the development of A.I. because how and what we choose to emphasize in its evolution will determine whether A.I. provides greater benefits than pitfalls. As Ava sarcastically said in Ex Machina, “I’m interested to see what you’ll choose.”
We need to emphasize the moral, ethical and social-emotional aspects of learning just as much as—if not more than—the technological and intellectual factors in A.I. development. Values such as compassion, empathy, gratitude and forgiveness should be woven into this new version of the body electric, which Walt Whitman used as a symbol for the oneness of all people. If we do not choose to emphasize EQ (emotional quotient) as much as IQ (intelligence quotient), then I do not know how we avoid the pitfalls of A.I. Cognitive intelligence without emotional intelligence tends to lead to unstable and even psychopathic behavior; such a combination has been used to describe serial murderers. Do we really want our technological “anklets” to become man-eating sharks?
As we step through the looking glass of A.I., it is wise to remember William Durant’s words regarding the collapse of civilizations: “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.” A.I.’s role in the fate of our civilization will be determined by how much human compassion or indifference we emphasize in our body electric. The next chapter in the story of humanity could be titled: ‘When Ava Met Alice.’
Chris is Professor of Political Science at Western Connecticut State University, a Fulbright Scholar, Director of the Kathwari Honors Program, and founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity & Innovation. He is also the author of "The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success" (HarperOne, 2017).
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