IMPRESSIONS
The Highway to Hell has No Exit
R
egardless of who you are, what you do for a living or your level of interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should be concerned about its far-reaching potential, the harmful results that will follow, and the devastating outcome for a future generation. Obviously, there are great benefits derived from this new technology; however, it’s essential to recognize that AI is a sharp and dangerous double-edged sword. Now that we have crossed the threshold into Deep Learning—which removes human input to problem-solving equations—our society is forever changed, and our longterm existence remains in question. Don’t believe for a minute that machines are going to take over, no—that is a fantasy for the big screen; instead, we should be concerned with a single world-wide authoritarian state which will control information and knowledge. Our concerns should be laser-focused on the potential of a modern-day Star Chamber, a small and organized group of powerful and influential people working closely together so they may ensure absolute control over those they deem inferior, or at least consider them an operational element within their wheel of progress. They will preach freedom and goodwill 12 | MARCH 2020 | NEW ENGLAND NEWS + MEDIA
for the world while taking control of our lives; they will gain access and predictable power over human decision making—with an insignificant margin of error, only to manipulate large segments of daily activity for a host of motivations. We’re not fear-mongering, absolutely not, but humankind’s essences and its destiny should never have been controlled to the point of automation and predictability in the first place. There will come a time when rebellion will take on this fight, and resistance will unleash the chains placed on an individual’s freedom of choice and privacy. Unfortunately, civil unrest will move beyond anything we might compare it to, and more exceptional minds than ours will question the uncertainty of society’s future, but we do ask the question of why the Second Amendment is continually argued and fought over? Here are some facts that should cause pause; you are being followed, identified, and influenced by both the government and data collecting businesses. You are being used to influence others by the tasks you perform on your digital device, office computer, or laptop. When in public or shopping at any of the larger chain stores, your movements are being videotaped, along with precise data points which are extracted and time-stamped for security and marketing purposes. Your homes are
recording your voice and movements by security apparatus you invite in under the disguise of safety. And there is more; your unique behavior patterns are being compiled into cross-matching files, which will follow you for the remainder of your life, so that at any given time, your location, actions, and even state-of-mind can be determined without your knowledge. Does this sound like utopia, or does it scare the living hell out of you? We should become suspect and ponder these questions: Has anyone asked for my permission to gather behavioral insights into my personal life? Is my private data being sold without my knowledge? Is someone or something cross-checking my facial features, genetic material, social media postings, email dialogues, geotargeting data, financial records, and medical records, then creating a secret— but available—composite of me, and offered to the highest bidder? What does the unabashed invasion of your privacy look like; it is when events begin to dismantle your freedom of choice, when all information about you is shared without permission, and when your every movement is predictable. It is when this sea of emotional turmoil is stirred by processes outside of your control and credited to Deep Thinking AI, which is here to stay and grow more invasive.
