Artificial intelligence: is it a double-edged sword?

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Artificial intelligence has the power to change the world – but it is double-edged sword
Every day, our lives are influenced by AI. But, Marcus Tomalin and Stefanie Ullmann say, flaws in the system could lead to diversity problems or even killer robots
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Wednesday 23 October 2019 23:00
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Artificial intelligence algorithms have typically struggled to identify women and people with darker skin through facial recognition ( Getty/iStock )
A rtificial Intelligence ( AI ) is already reconfiguring the world in conspicuous ways. Data drives our global digital ecosystem, and AI technologies reveal patterns in data. Smartphones, smart homes, and smart cities influence how we live and interact, and AI systems are increasingly involved in recruitment decisions, medical diagnoses and judicial verdicts. Whether this scenario is utopian or dystopian depends on your perspective.
The potential risks of AI are enumerated repeatedly. Killer robots and mass unemployment are common concerns, while some people even fear human extinction. More optimistic predictions claim that AI will add $15 trillion (£11.7 trillion) to the world economy by 2030, and eventually lead us to some kind of social nirvana.
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We certainly need to consider the impact that such technologies are having on our societies. One important concern is that AI systems reinforce existing social biases – to damaging effect. Several notorious examples of this phenomenon have received widespread attention: state-of-the-art automated machine translation systems that produce sexist outputs, and image recognition systems that classify black people as gorillas.
These problems arise because such systems use mathematical models (such as neural networks) to identify patterns in large sets of training data. If that data is badly skewed in various ways, then its inherent biases will inevitably be learnt and reproduced by the trained systems. Biased autonomous technologies are problematic since they can potentially marginalise groups, such as women, ethnic minorities or the elderly, thereby compounding existing social imbalances.
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A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
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Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
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Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
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The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
16/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi
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Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session
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A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
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A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
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