When big names like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking speak out about the potential dangers that are associated with AI, people are bound to sit up and listen. While a mobile app development company or a web developer may be guiding their clients towards this technology, it is understandable to want to ask questions.
Even Bill Gates, a known pragmatist, has said that there are dangers that we need to be aware of. There are five key areas that must be discussed when meeting with a mobile app development company or web development firm. Let’s take a closer look at these AI related risks and how they can affect a forward-thinking business.
Advanced Forms of Discrimination
A machine now has the ability to record any and all information about someone. Of course, this is information that can be used to discriminate against a person. What happens if a person is unable to obtain medical insurance because they were recorded without their knowledge? Police officers are already relying on facial recognition technology more than ever before.
Those who pay close attention to the news have probably already seen stories about people who were wrongfully apprehended because of AI. This is something that any business or mobile app development company must be aware of before they embark on any sort of design process. The last thing that any company should want is to unwittingly partake in discrimination.
Lack of Alignment With Machines
What happens if the machine’s goals do not happen to align with the goals of the business? This may seem like a plot from a science fiction film but in reality, it is an issue that is already occurring in the present day. What humans value from these machines and what they are actually able to accomplish is not always the same. A machine’s misunderstanding of our objectives could be deadly.
Let’s say that a self-driving car has been told to make its way to a destination as rapidly as possible. What’s to stop this vehicle from operating in a manner that in unsafe and unlawful? These scenarios can lead to a number of severe, long term issues. A machine may be able to accomplish the goal that a human has set for it but at what cost? This is something that must be examined further.
Inability To Maintain Privacy
Now that we live in a world where a person’s every move can be tracked, invasions of privacy are more common than ever before. A business and the mobile app development company that they decide to work with must be aware of these realities if they are planning to utilize artificial intelligence. Facial recognition algorithms threaten to destabilize the last remaining shred of privacy that people have.
Big Brother is constantly watching and with the use of artificial intelligence, lives are about to change. This is something that a mobile app development company must remain cognizant of. If developers and their clients are not careful, they may find themselves contributing to aspects of society that they are not comfortable with. AI must be used wisely so that these types of scenarios can be avoided completely.
Social Media Manipulation
In the wake of the discovery that Facebook algorithms played a major role in the results of the last American election, there are a number of people who find themselves worried about further manipulation. Now that everyone and their mother has a preferred social media hub, it has never been easier for AI related technologies to fall into the wrong hands. Simply put, those who tell people what they want to hear do not experience any sort of second-guessing.
This can be quite dangerous. No company can allow themselves to remain complicit when propaganda is being spread that can be potentially harmful. AI has the ability to target people and tell them everything that they ever thought they wanted to know. Worst of all, it does not matter if the information is actually true or not. Once it has a chance to spread, none of that matters anymore.
Autonomous Weaponry
This is the one that probably gives people the coldest sweats. Artificial intelligence can be used to program various machines and in most cases, this is all well and good. What happens when weapons are programmed to operate on their own, though? This causes major problems that are not exactly easy to fix. A global arms race could break out.
Once this happens, there is very little that can be done. That’s why a mobile app development company and the businesses that they work with must remain cognizant of these risks. If weapons of this nature are ever deployed, it will be incredibly difficult for anyone to fight back against them. Dismantling them becomes essentially impossible and this is something that should be avoided at all costs.
While none of these risks are as potentially damaging as the skeptics may claim, there is nothing wrong with remaining fully aware at all times. The rise of powerful technologies comes with a number of advantages. Unfortunately, they can also be misused. When technology starts to rise rapidly, education is key.
This is what allows a business, mobile app development company or app developer to get the most out of AI. The maximization of any rising technology is all about minimizing the potential risks before they have a chance to occur.