Humainity's Quest For Superintelligene
The dominance of humans in the world for millennia stems from our intelligence which enables us to think long-term, communicate and collaborate effectively. This intellect has also shaped much of our current environment.
Can That Change?
If our intellect gives us a superior position, then it becomes plausible to think that entities with greater intelligence than us would also be more powerful. There is no living being capable of possessing greater intelligence than humans. The only entity capable of having greater intelligence than humans is AI.
Researchers aim to create artificial general intelligence (AGI) which will have intelligence equal to ours. Ongoing developments in the field of AI make the arrival of AGI more foreseeable but no one is yet able to predict an exact date.
Philosophers like Nick Bostrom argue that creation of a machine possessing human-level intelligence will mark humanity's greatest discovery. He explains that once such a machine is created it will soon exceed human intelligence and acquire superintelligence. Such superintelligent machines would solve all problems humankind will face.
Motivation of This Superintelligent Form
Since a superintelligent machine would have the solution to all problems we will face, it is obvious that we will be dependent on it. In fact, we have already started getting dependent on internet and mobile apps even before superintelligence has arrived.
With its superior intellect and access to more resources, superintelligent machines would be able to manipulate our thoughts and thereby our actions.
What remains unknown is what the motivation of such a machine will be. Motivation of this superintelligent machine is likely to depend on two factors: the initial goals set by humans during its development and goals set by the machine itself to ensure its preservation and access to vital resources.
AI has already been integrated across sectors like healthcare, business, and education. This makes me wonder, have we paid enough attention to instil a motivation in those systems to keep it benevolent towards us in the future even when it is more powerful than us?
What Lies After
It might seem that the future is doomed, but there is hope. History is replete with instances where embracing the unknown led to success. Take the advent of horse power, which revolutionised transportation and communication.
Similarly, the industrial revolution drastically transformed the workforce, with those who embraced industrial advancements over agriculture thriving.
These examples underscore the importance of viewing new inventions as tools for progress. Arrival of superintelligence is yet another challenge, bigger than most of what we have seen in the past. This also means that the opportunities to use it are wider, and the benefit to gain from it is bigger.
What Should We Do?
So now the question rises: how can we retain our dominant position from a machine more intelligent than us? The answer lies in the question. As we are the creators, while developing superintelligence, we can ensure that it remains benevolent towards us.
This can be done by instilling a human-like conscience in the machine right from its early development stages. Conscience cannot be measured by a single variable. So, it becomes imperative to consider a conscience matrix for AI (CM4AI) – a matrix of characteristics that influences the conscience of a machine.
This conscience matrix (CM4AI) will empower us to determine the benevolence level of the superintelligent form and make necessary corrections in the training process.