WILL HUMANITY EVER BE REPLACED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

The late Stephan Hawking once stated that "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race".

While this might sound absurd to some, Hawking elaborated that "Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superceded."

However, asking the question of whether humanity will ever be replaced by artificial intelligence is frightening at first, but it is something we cannot deny as we look toward the future. Will AI replace humans in certain industries? This answer is not just a simple yes or no but rather a question of when and how fast?

Given the ever-increasing technological prowess of mankind, the world we live in right now is immensely different from the world 100 years ago. Development in healthcare has allowed people's life expectancies to increase significantly.

Advances in transportation and communication have connected us. Artificial Intelligence is already a popular term by itself, and the topics that were once only possible in the realm of science fiction – like machine learning, androids and automation – are now commonplace.

Google Co-Founder, Sergey Brin, commented in the company’s annual Founders’ letter. "The new spring in artificial intelligence is the most significant development in computing in my lifetime. Every month, there are stunning new applications and transformative new techniques". Brin further added that "such powerful tools also bring with them new questions and responsibilities".

Brin concluded the letter stating that "While I am optimistic about the potential to bring technology to bear on the greatest problems in the world, we are on a path that we must tread with deep responsibility, care, and humility."

There are, however, three factors that those at the forefront of technology need to consider; deep responsibility, care and humility. Artificial Intelligence and automation have the potential to render humans obsolete, and therein lies an intense socio-economic conundrum.

Why should companies pay their employees their salaries on a monthly basis when they can simply purchase an AI-powered machine once-off? It is true that a machine can carry out certain tasks at a far more efficient rate than any human can and factory workers are already feeling the brunt of this.

At least humans are resourceful so, while AI and automation can replace basic repetitive tasks, complex decision making is still done by humans. Laws and policy are human created. Artificial Intelligence and Automation in its current form have not reached the levels as depicted in works of fiction like Detroit: Become Human. We are definitely not at the level of having androids replace human beings for emotional connections but this may soon happen.
Although humans may have created AI, where do we draw the line when it comes to advancing it? Will our morality and philosophy keep us from progressing into the future or will Androids and Artificial Intelligence reign supreme sooner than later?

The worst thing out of all of this is that the AI developers hold the power over its future.