Page 12 - Monocle Quarterly Journal Vol 3 Issue 2 Spring

MONOCLE QUARTERLY JOURNAL | DEEP LEARNING
Whilst we do not subscribe to the most pessimistic conceptions of AI that warn of an out-of-control super- intelligence that will eventually seek to rule over or make redundant the human population, we also do not wish to downplay the future capabilities and significant impact
mean, however, that we should resist the evolution of AI to safeguard our livelihoods.
Instead, through a practical and considered look at AI’s present capabilities and future potential, this Journal will argue that artificial intelligence itself is not necessarily to be feared. Much in the same way that computing and robotics have, in the past, helped to improve efficiencies and aided in the continual advancement of humankind, the implications of artificial intelligence as a tool that can be leveraged by industries and individuals will depend on how we decide to use it. For if we collectively grasp the positive implementations of AI to build a better world, the potential of this tool for good will be truly powerful. But if we allow artificial intelligence – and the data that fuels this powerful technology – to be colonised by a few players who wish to only enrich themselves – then we may indeed see the manifestation of what the late Stephen Hawking warned of when he described AI as potentially the “worst event in the history of our civilisation.” Such an outcome, however, as Hawking described, can only be prevented if we employ a rational and ethical framework and appeal to the better angels of our nature with regard to the implementation and control of AI.
... the implications of artificial intelligence as a tool
that can be leveraged by industries and individuals,
will depend on how we decide to use it.
that artificial intelligence will have on our socio-economic environment. It may very well be the case that AI will, in time, change the way many industries function, as well as how individuals in those industries operate. Through the automation of thousands of processes, thanks to the intelligent and ever more sophisticated proficiencies that AI has already displayed, it may even be the case that millions of jobs, or at least the most menial aspects of those jobs, will become obsolete. But this does not
1.2 BANKING AND THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
Most people can recall what they were doing on September 11, 2001, when their otherwise normal Tuesday was interrupted as they were drawn to a nearby television to watch in horror and disbelief as two hijacked aeroplanes – one a United Airlines flight and the other an American Airlines carrier – crashed into the World Trade Centre in the Lower Manhattan borough of New York. Within an hour and 42 minutes both the North and South towers had collapsed. Still reeling, the world was then informed that a third plane had crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth, which was headed towards San Francisco, crashed into a field, with the heroic passengers
having managed to thwart the plans of their hijackers. Nearly 3 000 people were killed, and a further 6 000 were injured.
The 9/11 attack is one of the most shocking events in modern history – in mere moments, the entire population of the world’s most powerful country had been reduced to a state of fear, panic, and confusion. People evacuated business buildings unsure of whether theirs might be the next target. Families desperately tried to make contact with one another to ensure their loved ones were safe. Alarm spread throughout the world – for if America was not safe, who was? To think that anyone
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