AI: Good, Bad, or Both?

[General Ceel]

"Artificial Intelligence" is a hot topic these days. Some people think we're headed toward Skynet and The Terminator. Others are concerned about their jobs. Still other concerns involve are related to deep fakes, the end of creativity and a host of other issues. On the other hand there are incredible possibilities. 

..but where do you stand on the topic?

[Danster]

It will be used in the most appropriate way for the world's richest to get even richer. It's how western governments are used so why will this be any different?

It could be transformational, allowing humans to spend their lives dedicated to relationships, arts and craft. It will be used to make the rich richer and subvert the masses.

We are a vile species.

[General Ceel]

No doubt there are some who will try to abuse it. But here in the USA I think the bigger danger is in conservative types who are afraid of everything stifling the development and implementation which would in turn allow other places with fewer regulations to reap all of the benefits. I'm reminded of all the anti-EV crowd and oil industry lobbyists. On one hand they cry about Chinese products, but on the other they actively slow us down so they can keep milking every last penny out of petroleum.

I think EV is like everything else. At first you've got people saying "it will never work. Next they say "okay, it works, but I'll never use it. Its bad." But before long everyone is using it various ways to better their lives and can't remember what life was like without it....

I'll go one further and say its about our improve our lives in amazing ways we've barely even conceived of yet. AI shouldn't be seen as "taking over," but rather as a "booster." Creative people fear the end of creativity. Smart creators will just figure out how to use AI to be more creative in new ways.

I'm excited.

[Danster]

I'd like to be excited, but all the great innovations end up being used to make the rich richer rather than genuinely helping the masses. I'd like to think this will be different but I can't believe it.

[General Ceel]

While you're not wrong, I still think we'll eventually reach a point where we're a lot more like Star Trek than people think possible. The ships computers are a giant repository of information. The crew come up with solutions and theories to solve their problems. The computer is able to run the simulations incredibly fast. It doesn't mean the people are any less excellent.

Right now there are already AI programs that can create pictures based on your prompts and its knowledge of all the art that it can digest. Painters are offended by this. But the fact of the matter is that most people can't paint and are unlikely to be able to learn very quickly. Paying for the services of a painter is also expensive. What new AI means is that if I write a screenplay and want to pitch a movie to studio, but have no budget for an artist, I can now use AI to generate pre-production art to help pitch my idea. I see this as unleashing creativity, not destroying it.