The Dangers of AI #398
By Hank Silverberg
Commentary
Remember the old 1970's commercial "It's not live, its Memorex"? The iconic slogan was designed to convince people that Memorex tape quality was as good as hearing the music live.
Well, the audio was good quality. But it was not as good as live music.
I think now we ought to cannibalize that slogan with "It's not alive, its AI!"
If you regularly get email that you need to respond to, you might find an A-I generated suggested response to that email. No, I don't mean the simple reply, "Thank you," or "I received your message."
I mean full paragraphs giving a response to exactly what the email was about. In effect, an A-I is writing the answer for you. Some people may think "that's convenient, it saves time." Others might think the A-I writes better than they do.
But I see a big problem with Artificial Intelligence.
It has the feel or reality and of substance, but it is really a cop-out for human beings who don't take the time to use their own brain and their own skills.
And it has become a plague on America's favorite past time, the internet!
Check out your social media page. Who is real and who is AI? It's not just words. It's sounds and video as well. Entire "people" have been created with A-I, and they can do everything from political campaigning to scamming you out of your life savings (no, I have not been scammed, but I have foiled a few).
If you use social media, email, texting or on-line video, be careful. But there is even more danger here. A-I can put words into the mouths of people who make big decisions in business, politics or the media. It can even take your identity and create big trouble. You may never know who the source is or what the motive is.
I know there are many advocates for more AI, but we need to come up with some way to detect it so we know who or what we are dealing with in our personal, professional and political lives.
Isaac Asimov, the great science fiction writer, created the three laws of robotics in his books. I think we need them in reality. What are they? Well, when I looked them up on-line, I got an A-I produced summary of them:
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
I think all companies dealing with A-I need to program these laws or something similar into their product. In a world where drones are the main focus of warfare, and the internet dominates the daily lives of millions of people, this is no joke.
News You May Have Missed!
Someone at the Department of Justice has come to their senses. On Thursday, the DOJ cancelled subpoena requests for New York Times reporters who had written a story about the gaps in the security systems on the new Air Force One. That's the plane that was a gift from Qatar.
The government originally wanted to get access to the reporter's phone records and those of family members, as an effort to find out who leaked the problems with the security system to the media.
The Times had reported that the new plane lacked
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| (New Air Force One) |
At the same time, a spokesperson for the Justice Department says the leak that led to the story is still under investigation, calling it a threat to national security.
Widening War?
There has not been very much reporting on an interesting and somewhat alarming twist in the Ukraine/Russia war. Kyiv launched missiles this past week at an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, which Ukraine says was carrying military equipment from Russia headed to Iran. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has also been supplying satellite information that has helped Iran target US Military facilities in the Middle East. And he says there is more evidence of "clear cooperation" between Iran and Russia.
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| (Caspian Sea) |
Add on to that, the North Korean troops which have been used by Russia to fight Ukraine, the threat of the war widening is probable.
There has been no mention of this at the White House.
Dumbest Quote Of The Week!
This week's dumb quote comes from the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
We all know he says something stupid at least once a week or more often, but this one really shows his general lack of knowledge and contempt for history and for America's veterans.
He was talking about the war with Iran, noting that 18 military personnel have been killed in conflicts during his terms in office.
"That's 18 in two wars. One is too many, but that's 18, whereas in Vietnam we lost 200,000, we lost thousands and thousands in Afghanistan, we lost thousands in every war -- the Korean war, thousands, and these wars all lasted a few years."
That is wrong, of course. Go to the National Mall two blocks from White House and you will see a memorial with the names of the 58,220 people who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The White House later put out actual numbers for those killed in action in Vietnam to try to correct the President's statement, but you would think a guy who got out of the draft with "bone spurs" would have some clue of how many Americans lost their lives in a conflict he dodged.
(You suggestions and comments are welcome)
My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at: HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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