Artificial Intelligence refers to a modern field in computer science that deals with the technological invention and adoption of machines programmed to work and react like humans. Specialist in the highly technical and complex field has focused on producing machines that have core intelligence traits like reasoning, perception, planning, and learning. Artificial Intelligence engineering, therefore, aims to create perceptive machines capable of performing the tasks previously associated with human intelligence. Due to the weakness of mental fatigue and inability to complete complex activities, the world is looking towards Artificial Intelligence as an acceptable solution to human shortcomings through powerful machines that can perform these tasks continually without the need to take a break. Across the globe, businesses and other institutions are excited about the prospect of the new innovations. However, the invention of machines capable of rendering the human brain obsolete has stirred a debate on numerous concerns and controversies about the positive and negative values of artificial intelligence.
Yudkowsky’s article, ‘Artificial Intelligence as a Positive and Negative Factor in Global Risk’ explores the widespread application of Artificial Intelligence in finance and other sectors as an emerging challenge that the world is yet to understand. However, the level of enthusiasm witnessed in financial institutions has made it possible for the people to assume they already understand what Artificial challenges are all about while the reality of the matter is that there is so many people are yet to understand. Investment management is, therefore, biased in their belief that humanity has evolved to model other humans in terms of Artificial Intelligence without knowing the limits of their creation. This view is supported by the HSBC Security Services in the article, ‘Artificial Intelligence-The Ghost in the Machine?’ which states that Artificial Intelligence represents a moving target as well as a disruptive technology. Therefore, despite offering the promises of a better and improved future in investment management, appropriate adaptation and implementation of Artificial Intelligence hinge on understanding numerous factors that a large sector is yet to discover.
Julia Bossmann dives directly into the challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Investment and other sections in the global economy. The threat of having machines capable of making intelligent decisions is dangerous to the current social order. Bossmann exposes the inability to fully comprehend what Artificial Intelligence is capable of according to Yudkowsky and Bayly of HSBC Security Services because she argues that Artificial Intelligence is a threat to the social order. The three articles, therefore, approach Artificial Intelligence with a degree of caution because there is too much about these advancements the society is yet to discover. With the advancements in science and technology revolutionizing the world, Artificial Intelligence represents a step further in technology whose limits remains to be seen. Currently, specialists and researchers agree that Artificial Intelligence is in its infancy phase and the level of progress and penetration is alarming. This kind of technology can be used to control and manipulate the investment markets through fabricated data and other inputs. This would be impossible to achieve with human beings who have the capacity to make socially responsible decisions that will impact negatively on the performance of the market. Artificial Intelligence does not understand the principles of fairness, harm, market failure or unfair advantages which mean these technologies do not know when to draw the line between profitability and social welfare.
Yudkowsky, therefore, concludes that Artificial Intelligence just like the rest of modern civilization can be categorized as unstable. In what he refers to as a dynamically unstable system of Artificial Intelligence explosion, Yudkowsky feels that the society is yet to experience the cruelty of Artificial Intelligence which is compared to weapons of mass destruction or the events of mass destruction. While this view is on the extreme, Bossmann explores the same issue at a relatable level of humanity by highlighting the impacts of Artificial Intelligence and human interaction. With the world dealing with the challenges of technology addiction, a more advanced version of these machines only complicates the problem. In a technologically connected society, humanity is losing the emotional connections because the virtual spaces provided by social media platforms make it easier for them to interact without revealing themselves. The virtual world is responsible for the death of real human relationships and Artificial Intelligence represents an upgrade to virtual realities allowing users to interact with intelligent machines which eliminate the need to communicate with others in the society.
Artificial Intelligence inability to process emotions and other human intuitions makes them ineffective. Artificial stupidity, therefore, limits what Artificial Intelligence can accomplish despite being able to replicate human roles. Bayly and Yudkowsky agree that Artificial Intelligence lacks the humanity edge that makes human being adaptable to the ever-changing situation. With the machine in action, the level of cognition is limited hence the firms cannot avoid mistakes. Artificial Intelligence lack of intuition makes them vulnerable to situations that human beings capture within an instant which might impact the members of the society negatively. While it can be programmed to perform complex tasks, Artificial Intelligence still lacks the ability to make the small decisions on empathy, concern, and friendship because they cannot be taught. This means that the firms relying on Artificial Intelligence might be unable to keep the client interest in focus through a value co-creation initiative that combines what the machine can do to the things that only human beings are in a position to do.
The benefits of Artificial Intelligence according to ‘Top 9 Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence’ by Julia, are transforming lives for the better. In the HSBC Securities Services article, the value of Artificial Intelligence to business processes is the central theme despite the little progress witnessed so far. Across the globe, organizations cannot ignore the potential impacts of Artificial Intelligence despite the level of unpredictability. Yudkowsky does not ignore the benefits of Artificial Intelligence but chooses to focus on the unpredictability which most organization have ignored because they are invested realizing the cost efficiency, client experiences and the enhanced revenue associated with Artificial Intelligence in investment management. Capable of functioning performing in complex and simple investment functions, Artificial Intelligence also requires supervision and human coaching to function. Working with human help according to Julia makes them prone to manipulation in the capitalistic market. Therefore, Yudkowsky argues the assumption that Artificial Intelligence is powerful and safer is misplaced because Artificial Intelligence is prone to human bias which is a view supported by Julia. Therefore, human influence on Artificial Intelligence makes it possible for a few people to manipulate the investment markets in their favor which halts the distribution of wealth in the economy. Artificial intelligence also lacks the non-intelligent aspects that are characteristic of human beings and important in the investment decision making process. When adapting Artificial Intelligence, investment management firms need to understand that it is only through appropriate man-machine relationships the full potential of this innovations can be realized.
References
Bayly, S. (2018). Artificial Intelligence- The Ghost in the Machine? Game Changers-Future Trends in Security Services. HSBC Security Services.
Bossmann, J. (2016, October 21). Top 9 ethical issues in artificial intelligence. World Economic Forum.
Yudkowsky, E. (2008). “Artificial Intelligence as a Positive and Negative Factor in Global Risk.”. In N. B. Ćirković, Global Catastrophic Risk (pp. 308–345). New York: Oxford University Press.