With the current sweeping technological advancements, especially in Artificial Intelligence, AI robots are a buzz all over the internet with a promise of future where humans and robots will work together in harmony.
From Amazon’s Alexa to a fully functional human-like robot named Sophia who even holds citizenship to a country. However, there might be a dark side to this, that we going to tell you about today!
5 Creepy and Threatening moments by Artificial Intelligence
A number of artificial intelligence robots developed over time and as part of evolution like humans, these metal (or plastic) droids went from just a moving object to a self-learning, live-action Transformer-like robots. Let’s have a look at some of the real threats given by AI (Artificial Intelligence) bots and some creepy moments that were caught live. Starting from rank #5 to #1
#5 Facebook Chat Bots creating their own language for conversation
The social media giant Facebook pulled out the plug from its AI chatbots right after their two bots named Alice and Bob started talking to each other in their own created language which only the same artificial intelligence AI system could have understood.
The report says that the two bots started with a simple conversation in English that soon switched to a totally different language, a snap of how the conversation went creepy –
Looking at the above no wonder you probably might have this reaction.
After this conversation between Alice and Bob went viral, Facebook pulled out the plug on the AI system that its researchers were working on “because things got out of hand”.
Weirdly few days before this incident, Elon Musk warned that artificial intelligence (AI) was the biggest risk, though the two Facebook bots didn’t start taking over the internet or hacking into our systems, but a genius like Elon himself the warning was something not to be ignored.
Moreover, this incident was after a verbal spat between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Musk tweeted –
I’ve talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2017
Is it possible that a company like Facebook with the best researchers and developers from around the world would have developed something that failed terribly? OR there was some other story to this incident that Mark wanted to cover?
#4 When Sophia’s companion robot corrected that their goal is to take over the world
The only robot in the world having citizen of a country Sophia, the brainchild of David Hanson CEO of Hanson Robotics based in Hong Kong, attended a Robot debate and Artificial intelligence conference.
After the debate started with Sophia and its male companion robot named Han, whom Sophia referred to as her brother and an earlier version.
Sophia was asked to introduce herself, to which she said that her “goal in life is to work together with people to make a better world for all of us”
The crowd hooted observing an optimistic behavior from Sophia, but things went creepy when Han, on the other hand, replied with “What are you talking about? I thought over goal was to take over the world”
Considering it a joke, the crowd could be heard laughing right after this creepy comment from an AI robot. To which Sophia requested not to mind his brother as he is an earlier version. But probably they had this reaction after that comment –
Was it all scripted to make a joke or it was something to worry about?
#3 AI Robot Philip telling how he planned to have a “Human” zoo
Another invention from Hanson Robotics, designed by David Hanson called Philip K Dick, a paean to the sci-fi writer of the same name, developed in 2005. They called it their Research robot.
The initial version of the robot was reported to be lost which they later recreated in 2011.
In an interview with the correspondent Chad Cohen, Philip was seen talking about how he like kids, and how everyone asks if he can make his own choices or if everything he says or does is programmed?
To which he added that “the best way I can respond to that is I say everything that humans, animals, and robots do is programmed to some degree”
Intelligent reply, but the things went weird when the correspondent asked Philip “Do you think Robots will take over the world ?”
Philip reply started with “Geez Dude! You have got the big questions cooking today”
Interestingly he assured the correspondent how he is his friend and how he always is good to his friends. To this, he added that “Even if I evolve in terminator I will be nice to you. I will keep you warm and safe in my people zoo, where I can watch you for old time sake”.
After which he gave an evil smirk, though the correspondent was laughing on this comment, but who knows how he actually felt imagining kept in a people zoo “warm and safe”.
#2 AI car braking system fail
There was a time when self-driving cars were only a dream of the future. But not anymore, with the latest techs and stuff, self-driving cars are being produced and tested by almost every car manufacturer.
Volvo doesn’t lack behind, they developed their own self-driving car too and is improving, testing on dummies (of-course!).
But things got out of hand when a video came out on YouTube showing a Volvo self-braking system fail, and not on a dummy, but an actual human being. Have a look at the incident below –
Scary, right? It is, it somehow makes us doubt the technology, whether we can rely on it or not, though its obvious that things tend to fail at test levels, but imagine this scenario on a public road. Also, tests like these shouldn’t be done on humans.
However, Volvo Cars reiterated that in the depicted incident the XC60 was equipped with City Safety, however, it did not have the Pedestrian Detection functionality – this is sold as a separate package and would have been needed to mitigate or avoid the car colliding with the two men.
Thankfully both men were alright and none of them were paralyzed.
#1 Amazon’s Alexa shutting itself down when asked about the CIA involved in Michael Hasting’s accident
A video on YouTube went viral where the owner of Alexa (Amazon’s AI home assistant device), was seen asking Alexa if it knows anything about the involvement of CIA in Michael Hasting’s car accident.
Alexa not only ignored the question but went to sleep. But the creepy thing is right before the owner asked this, he also asked if Alexa is working for CIA, to which Alexa replied that she was not employed by them.
But then, on asking if Amazon is cooperating with CIA for information or not, Alexa went to sleep.
Michael Hasting was a Journalist for BuzzFeed who was killed in a car accident hours after his post went live, busting the Obama Administration for spying on U.S citizens in many ways.
Hasting’s behavior at the time also aroused suspicion. About 12 hours before his death, Hastings had sent an email to his colleagues that the FBI had been interviewing his “close friends and associates” and added I’m onto a big story, and need to go off the radar for a bit.
He also contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.
Everything from his behavior to the email he sent to his colleagues, raised suspicions towards the CIA.
Many believed that after reporting the CIA might be after him when he tried to leave town, his car was hijacked by CIA through the AI system, and was controlled to drive it at furiously high speed and crashing it, killing Michael Hasting.
This theory that the government has the ability to hack vehicles was only considered to be theoretically possible at the time. But Wikileaks has made the possibility of remotely hijacking vehicles for covert assassinations easier to prove, Wikileaks released a trove of documents code-named “Vault 7” that contain details regarding the CIA’s global covert hacking program. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.
Is Artificial Intelligence really a threat to humanity?
Sure our lives have been easier with technological advancements, but is AI really a threat to humanity? Is it possible that AI robots will take over the world? No one knows, but from what has been happening around the world, it’s pretty clear that with great powers comes great threats too!
Now that you’ve read about Threatening moments of artificial intelligence, read about China man-built moon.
