AI: Embrace it, hate it, or “embate” it?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here, and it is permeating every part of our lives and indeed every industry – including transport and logistics. Is it good, bad, or ugly? Or perhaps a combination of all three? Regardless, MARKUS NIEUWOUDT and CHENGEDZAI MAFINI say its impact is massive.

Picture the scene: following delivery of his brand-new “Andy Butler Bot” from TEMU Robotics, Andy gets into his autonomous, self-driven Mercedes, which runs on Google’s latest AI software. The Bot hands him a flask of freshly brewed coffee for the road, and bids him farewell with the words, “Hasta la vista, baby”.

Moments later, the Mercedes spins out of the driveway with the Bot inside, returning it to the robotics dealer due to health and safety concerns. It adds a recommendation in the client’s survey notes that the manufacturer should add hazardous warning signs to the shipment packaging stating that the product may cause some customers severe psychological distress and anxiety. And as the Mercedes spins off, Andy hears the Bot’s parting cry: “I’ll be back!”

Shortly after, Andy finds himself in cattle class being served a Chardonnay and peanuts by the in-flight “Betty Stewardess Bot”, one of the in-flight crew members onboard the newest state-of-the-art autonomous auto-piloted Boeing Airbus planes using the latest and greatest IBM self-machine learning AI technology. 

Andy then heads for Tibet, where he will spend the rest of his days trying to mend his fractured psyche (that resulted from the Butler Bot using catchphrases from “The Terminator” as Bot humour) in a Tibetan Monastery. He lives as a hermit, meditating to Enya, trying to get Zen, and seeking spiritual enlightenment. He drinks chocolate Xanax shakes for breakfast and receives his email via homing pigeon. How grand, Livin’ la Vida Loca!

Cynics may think this fictitious scenario is just a rant from people who do not want to embrace the Betty Stewardess Bot – designed by a tech guru who believes an AI bot to be preferable to a real-life flight attendant with an actual sense of humour on an aeroplane flown by real-life pilots. But no AI technological advancement, however great, can replace that warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from human interaction. Certain things are just best left unchanged.

All jokes and ranting aside, philosophers, academics, and scientists no longer have to debate or speculate about the possible impact of AI technology on everyday life. Impact analyses and speculation have given way to substantiation: the development of AI technology and numerous possible applications in everyday life will either bring out the best in humanity or destroy us. We are not necessarily referring here to dystopian scenarios in Hollywood sci-fi movies, where humanity is being exterminated by AI self-learning robots that have become self-aware and evolved into a sentient state, declaring humankind their archenemy and going into enemy-extermination mode.

Technological advancement has always ignited changes in our fundamental human nature. The way we go about our daily lives, our thinking patterns, the way we interact with each other… every facet of life has been influenced by technological advancement in one way or another. Now, with AI technology already in the house, let alone on the doorstep, we can see its impact on society. With the rapid, almost daily development and enhancement of better and smarter AI technologies, potential applications are only limited to the scope of human imagination. There will be no area of our lives that will not be affected by AI technology.

Such rapidly evolving AI technology threatens to destroy us, maybe not directly in a literal sense, but – far more likely – in the destruction of our human nature. However, if we allow our human nature to be wrecked by AI technology, our literal destruction will be achieved as a byproduct. On the other hand, if applied so that we don’t lose our humanity in the process, AI technology has the potential to allow humans to evolve.

Our human nature is quite fragile and we are very gullible. Initially, technology evolved gradually, with advancements and discoveries separated by many years. Now, though, these developments have become so rapid and frequent that new technologies are being developed almost daily. Looking back at our history, our ingenuity, and our scientific achievements, we must study the impact of those major scientific breakthroughs and discoveries on human development. This understanding could very well be the difference between life and death. The one absolute certainty about the development of new technology is that with it comes inevitable change. This can be a change for better or for worse; only time will tell.

A failure to understand the implications of change may lead to obsolescence, irrelevance, and sometimes even extinction. To safeguard against such outcomes, humanity needs to create a safety net by being proactive towards technological developments. We also need to go a step further by assuming greater responsibility when developing new technologies, to ensure that we only develop those that serve us positively and enrich our lives.

Safety nets such as regulation, policing, and cybersecurity systems (among others) should be designed to avoid a dystopian future where uncontrolled, dangerous, and rogue technologies can cause the end of our civilisation. Scientists and inventors need to approach the development of new technologies carefully and responsibly. Since our civilisation is fragile, technologies developed with nefarious intent can upheave the status quo, leading to undesirable outcomes. The best way to avoid this is for scientists and inventors to develop new technologies that advance human civilisation, rather than undermine it.

Looking at the fragility of the world economy and how easily a tiny but perverse influential factor can negatively disrupt it, it becomes even more apparent that technological advancement should be closely governed and controlled. By no means are we saying that advancement should be limited, but there are new technologies being developed that could upset modern civilisation. As such, mechanisms should be established for monitoring and regulating technological advancements to ensure that the results of such efforts develop and improve life and existing systems.

AI technology is here to stay, whether we like it or not, and further technological developments and advances are inevitable. The actual long-term impact of such technological avalanches on our society is still to be fully realised. However, the bottom line remains that we all face the dilemma of either despising it or embracing it… there is no middle ground. Embate it.

* “Embate” is a Portuguese word meaning “collide with”, generally conveying a sense of force, impact, challenge, or conflict.