PEW Internet vroeg 979 technologiepioniers, innovators, ontwikkelaars, zakenmensen, beleidsmakers, onderzoekers en activisten of ze dachten dat mensen dankzij de groei van kunstmatige intelligentie (AI) beter af zullen zijn. De deskundigen denken dat AI de effectiviteit van mensen zal versterken, maar spreken hun zorgen uit over een aantal bedreigingen. Dankzij AI zullen computers net zo goed of beter worden dan wij in zaken als beslissingen nemen, patronen herkennen en vertalingen maken. Dat levert tijd, geld en levens op. Maar, of de deskundigen optimistisch waren of niet, zien ze ook een aantal bedreigingen. Daarbij werden ook oplossingen geformuleerd – zie de tabel beneden. Het onderzoek staat hier.

Een paar interessante quotes:

“AI is a tool that will be used by humans for all sorts of purposes, including in the pursuit of power. There will be abuses of power that involve AI, just as there will be advances in science and humanitarian efforts that also involve AI. Unfortunately, there are certain trend lines that are likely to create massive instability. Take, for example, climate change and climate migration. This will further destabilize Europe and the U.S., and I expect that, in panic, we will see AI be used in harmful ways in light of other geopolitical crises.” – danah boyd, a principal researcher for Microsoft and founder and president of the Data & Society Research Institute

“AI and ML [machine learning] can also be used to increasingly concentrate wealth and power, leaving many people behind, and to create even more horrifying weapons. Neither outcome is inevitable, so the right question is not ‘What will happen?’ but ‘What will we choose to do?’ We need to work aggressively to make sure technology matches our values. This can and must be done at all levels, from government, to business, to academia, and to individual choices.” – Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy

“Now, in 2018, a majority of people around the world can’t access their data, so any ‘human-AI augmentation’ discussions ignore the critical context of who actually controls people’s information and identity. Soon it will be extremely difficult to identify any autonomous or intelligent systems whose algorithms don’t interact with human data in one form or another.” – John C. Havens, executive director of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems