Does AI Truly Equal Good? 

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s 2017 Sci-Fi novel, Dogs of War, tells the story of Rex, a bioengineered, seven-foot tall robot-dog with artificial intelligence. Rex was created by humans as a weapon of war, designed to destroy, however Rex has a secret: he is a machine that is learning. 

Dogs of War evokes the common trope of people vs machine. Rex is a tangible, beastly expression of human invention, who has evolved to far surpass what his creators intended for him. If we put fear aside though, at its centre, the novel is an exploration of what life would be like if strong forms of AI coexisted alongside people. 

The technology to create a form like Rex is currently out of reach, we get a little closer all the time. However, there are many forms of AI already in existence that dramatically shape our lives. From the fun to the functional, how is AI making our world better?

What role should AI play in our lives? 

On a cool May evening in Melbourne, 50 people gathered to explore the topic of how people and AI coexist now and into the future. Hosted by TEDxMelbourne as part of its Circles series, with guest speaker and AI expert Dave King, discussions centred around the question, “Does AI = Good?”.

IBM defines AI as the science of creating intelligent machines and computer programs that mimic the problem-solving and decision-making abilities of humans. Dave King described AI as the process of training datasets to do specific tasks or produce particular outcomes, but emphasised that AI technology is still in its nascent stages. In spite of this, for many of us, basic AI is already actively influencing our day to day lives. 

Algorithms learn our preferences, our habits and our needs, and make suggestions or target advertising to us based on this data. The way we move from A to B is informed by it. For instance, real-time data on traffic conditions might help you decide when to drive home, or apply a surge price when you book a rideshare during peak times. For better or worse, AI frequently impacts our decision making, but what role do we want AI to play? 

When asked, “what can AI do for you?”, many participants considered how AI could take over tedious or repetitive tasks, like housework or personal admin. Others wanted assistance with everyday decision-making, like what to wear in the morning, or what to cook for dinner. For many, these tasks get in the way of achieving more creative, innovative, productive or enjoyable things. In many instances, technology already exists to support us, like smart assistants. 

But what if some of these more repetitive tasks actually have an important impact on our physical or mental wellbeing? While cooking can feel like a chore, it is also a creative outlet and a way to relax. Gardening and cleaning provides physical exercise and often a sense of satisfaction. If AI assumed responsibility for these activities, there may be unintended consequences for our health and happiness. 

Perhaps the role of AI is not just to step in to do the things we don’t enjoy, but to help us overcome challenges. Can AI expand our capabilities, improve our ability to process information and lead to more innovation?

Expanding our horizons with AI 

AI already creates more inclusive and supportive societies. Participants discussed AI’s enabling abilities through the lens of assistive technology for people with disabilities. Live captioning, voice activation and text to voice technology has transformed the way we can communicate with each other and has made more inclusive and accessible spaces. 

AI is also helping us be more creative and productive. For writers, there are many technology companies offering AI assistants to help with grammar, spelling, sentence structure and tone. AIs help author’s move past writer’s block. For instance, as I type this article, a Google AI predicts common phrases as I go and periodically makes suggestions that speed up the writing process. 

AI can certainly be fun too. For years we have played our favourite games alongside AI, although we’re not guaranteed to win. Memorialised in the award-winning documentary AlphaGo, the world champion player of the board game Go famously lost multiple games to computer technology company DeepMind’s AI program. The games were broadcast all over the world, and people watched in awe as Lee Sedol lost 4-1. This was a watershed moment for AI and machine learning. For the first time in the history of Go, AI won out. 

People and AI in partnership

Instead of raging against the machine, the question we could ask is: what can AI do to make us better individuals? Circle participants discussed how personal assistants, or personalised AIs, could be designed to understand our needs and provide us with tailored solutions to everyday problems. Could we have a personal AI to accompany us at work, to assist with storing important information or use to collaborate, or generate ideas with? Could a personal AI learn about our interests, skills and ways of working and anticipate our needs before we even register them? AI in the future could help us be more productive, innovative and knowledgeable versions of ourselves. 

Now and into the future, it may be less about people vs. machines, but rather people in partnership with machines. By marrying the power of technology with human traits like creativity, intuition and emotional intelligence, we dramatically expand our potential. Examples of this are already all around us. 

Let’s go back to the example of games. Centaur chess is where an AI plays against a team made up of an AI and a human player. Otherwise known as Freestyle chess, the combination of the strong computing power of AI coupled with a human’s capacity to react and intuit is said to create the strongest game play. AI has the potential to amplify our abilities, maximise our potential and make us more successful.

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AI and society

While AI presents so many opportunities for good, Circle participants discussed how important it is to have transparency and accountability when it comes to the development, ownership and governance of AI. AI should reflect the rich diversity in our societies and concerted effort should be put into making sure developers of AI are diverse too. Prototypes and ideas need to be tested with people with different experiences and world views so that the final product is representative and fit-for-purpose. 

We want to avoid the dangers presented in novels like Dogs of War, where technology and power were harnessed by private organisations prone to corruption and greed. While only fiction, we must be aware of how technology companies and developers amass power and influence and how this power is used to shape society and politics. 

However AIs capacity to better our society is immense. From amplifying our skills and knowledge to enabling our creativity and freeing up time, we can all agree the future of AI looks bright.