Does AI Pose An International Threat?

Artificial Intelligence is considered to be the next frontier for many big tech companies as they work to develop machines that can learn from past experience and essentially "think" for themselves.

While such technology would be considered a major breakthrough, some believe there is a dangerous side to artificial intelligence (AI) as well.

Getting Ahead Of The Risk

At the Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, astrophysicist Steven Hawking, Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA founder Elon Musk and Apple Inc. AAPL co-founder Steve Wozniak and several of their peers released a joint letter calling on policymakers to get ahead of the threats that AI carries.

The letter specifically addressed autonomous weapons, saying that once the technology has been developed, the world will be put at risk.

Easy To Manufacture

Unlike nuclear weapons, autonomous weapons would be much easier for armed forces around the world to manufacture as they don't require any difficult to locate raw materials.

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The letter predicted that the production of such weapons will be possible in a matter of years, so legislation to prevent them is necessary in order to get ahead of a situation that could become dangerous for humanity.

The letter's signatories agreed that although replacing human soldiers with machines would save lives, the chances of such machines falling into the hands of terrorists or dictators looking for a way to control civilian populations was too great a risk.

A Blow To AI

Hawking, Musk, Wozniak and their peers noted that developing artificially intelligent weapons was not in the best interest of the industry itself, as it would likely deter further innovation in the field.

AI is expected to have a positive impact on the future, but the development of autonomous weapons would likely create a public backlash which would significantly reduce progress in the industry.