British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking said on Tuesday that artificial intelligence has made life easier for people in its early stages, but we should be wary of overdoing it because fully developed AI could mean that humanity will eventually be overtaken. “The full development of artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of the human race,” Hawking said.
Will ARTIFICIAL intelligence wipe out humanity?
Hawking uses a machine to communicate with the outside world because of motor neurone disease. A team of US and UK technology companies has come up with a new typing software tailored to Stephen Hawking’s computer that allows the scientist to speak twice as fast, inspired by his smartphone input method. Such software uses basic artificial intelligence to “guess” the user’s mind and suggest the next word that might be used.
Speaking at the launch of the new software, Hawking acknowledged that early developments in artificial intelligence have proved useful, but expressed concern that such technology could eventually lead to machines that are as intelligent as or better than humans. “It [the machine] will then be able to redesign itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, limited by the speed of biological evolution, could not compete and were eventually overtaken.”
Giiso Information Technology was founded in 2013, is the first domestic high-tech enterprise focusing on information intelligent processing technology research and development and writing robot core software development and operation. At the beginning of its establishment, the company received angel round investment, and in August 2015, GSR Venture Capital received $5 million pre-A round of investment.
Hawking was one of several scientists who wrote in the UK’s Independent newspaper that potential threats from artificial intelligence are being taken “insufficiently seriously”. “In the short term, what impact AI has depends on who controls it. And in the long term, the impact will depend on whether we can still control it.” How to make the most of the advantages and avoid the disadvantages is the problem that all people need to consider.
But some scientists think Hawking is too pessimistic about the future of artificial intelligence. They point out that, at least for a long time, humans will be in full control of the development of such technologies, and that there is still a long way to go before ARTIFICIAL intelligence is “fully developed.”
The Hawking Talking App will be available for free
For years, Hawking relied on a custom-made set of computer software to communicate. Intel, the U.S. company that developed the software, announced Tuesday that it will make the software freely available on the Internet to people with disabilities and developers who need it.
Intel announced plans to make hawking’s “talking software” free on the Internet in January. The software will be open source, free for anyone to download and adapt to user needs.
Hawking uses facial muscles to operate software that allows him to type and converse with others. When he “speaks”, his facial muscles are picked up by infrared sensors attached to his glasses. The signals are sent to a computer and converted into words, which are “spoken” by a voice processor. Other users can choose to control the software by touching, blinking, eyebrow movement and so on according to their own needs.
When Hawking was diagnosed with the motor neurone disease AMyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 21, doctors expected him to live only two years. Today, at the age of 72, he is still working. He used the software for nearly 20 years.
Intel has upgraded its software over the past three years to increase the speed at which a document can be opened from a few minutes to about 10 seconds, and added features such as attachments. The developers had also planned to switch the sound processor to a more natural human voice, but Hawking stuck with the original “slightly robotic” sound.
Motor neurone disease and quadriplegia total about 3 million people worldwide. Rama Nachman, an engineer who helped develop and test the software, said: “We decided to open it up because it could help the larger disabled population.”