Rise of the Technology. Friend or Foe?
Rise of the Technology
We are in the digital age, where AI has beaten the best Go chess players and self driving cars are no longer science fiction. Just recently, i read an article on how advanced and accurate is the facial recognition technology that it is being used in China to tackle jaywalking!
In Jinan, Shandong, the system has been installed at certain traffic junctions to assist the traffic police with jaywalking offences. The system will take snapshots of the pedestrians who had committed jaywalking and their pictures are instantly sent to a database. The picture will be processed and matched to their respective ID number, home address and names. This information is then beamed on a screen displayed at the junction, instantly serving a jaywalking summon against the offender!
Reportedly, Facebook halted its research on a particular AI program. The research team had created chatbots to make negotiations with one another, however the chatbots started communicating using their own language. What alarmed and triggered the halt was that the researchers soon could not comprehend and control the new lingo that was created by the chatbots!
Friend or Foe?
Some prominent thought leaders have expressed their fears on the rise of the machines. Even some scientists have halted their own research on AI and technology.
Are these fears overblown or unfounded? Most notably, Mr Mark Zuckerberg is one strong supporter of AI along with many other governments and corporations that have been pushing for technology driven economies.
Many of us have implemented technology, whether at work or at home, to soothe and ease our manual chores and operational hassles. Our lifestyles have, in general without much doubt, improved with the advent of the internet, digitalisation, mobile apps, gadgets and e-commerce.
At the same time, we have witnessed some jobs being taken away, our familiar brick and mortar shops in the neighbourhood shut down due to intense competition from online shopping, and friends or colleagues being stressed out with being unable to catch up with technology and risked being displaced.
The jury is still out, with strong support showing on both camps.
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