Robots, AI could outsmart humans in a scary future world, says author
The famous Anglo-American writer who focuses on writing about the human race can envisage a world of robots and artificial intelligence in which people are rendered virtually redundant.
Award-winning Bill Bryson, known for books such as Notes from a Small Island and A Short History of Nearly Everything, spoke about his vision of the future in a recent exclusive interview.
‘Pretty good chance’
The question was put to the author: Within the space of 30 years, could Earth become a planet where AI and robots make humans redundant — and could there even be a robot author scripting a book called the Little Planet?
“I think there is probably a pretty good chance that we will (become redundant),” says Bryson, adding: “I don’t mean to be pessimistic about these things but I think there is a real possibility that we could create something that would be much smarter and more capable than we are.”
“It’s certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility,” adds Bryson, “to imagine a future when robots, artificial intelligence of some kind, could do things better than humans”.
“Where they can fly airplanes better, be better doctors, be better financial analysts and be able to do all kinds of things better,” Bryson predicts. “And there’s no reason why they couldn’t write better books than the rest of us. So, it’s a kind of scary prospect that we might make ourselves all redundant.”
Bryson’s book A Short History of Nearly Everything is widely acclaimed for its accesdon’t communication of science.
Responding to the question whether Bryson could be replaced by a story-writing robot, the author says: “I just think there isn’t anything that my brain does, that it does so well, that artificial intelligence couldn’t duplicate. So, could I be replaced? Yes. But I mean, I look forward to the day. I’m not urging this to happen, but I think there’s a real possibility where virtually all of us could be replaced by a robot that could do the jobs that we do.”
Bryson, however, says he is certain that artificial intelligence objects of one kind or another will become great tools for the humans.
“They will be there to assist us. Like a doctor, if you’re examining somebody and you’re trying to come up with something, especially if it’s like a rare disease, or it’s a tricky one. Having artificial intelligence that could help you make a diagnosis, I think that would be a good thing,” he says.
Next book
Meanwhile away from a world of future robots, Bryson’s latest major project is a book about the human body.
“I’m trying to understand how the body is put together,” he says. “I’m very aware of the fact that I’ve been living in this body for 66 years and it’s looked after me, but I haven’t particularly looked after it.”
Bryson explains: “It’s kept me going, and I have no idea really what goes on inside me. I don’t know where my spleen is, or my pancreas is, and if I found them I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about them. So, the whole idea of the book is me trying to understand how the human body is put together.”
“It won’t be a medical textbook, but a work that will wow readers into realizing the human body is an amazing thing,” he says.
Having authored a slew of books on travel, the English language, science, and other nonfiction topics, the US-born writer has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life.
Brexit
Regarding Brexit, Bryson believes Britain made the wrong decision when it voted to leave the European Union. And as a supporter of the Campaign for Rural England, he wants Britain’s housing needs to see development on brownfield sites, rather than the rich and green pastures of the countryside.
When asked if his trip was enough to whet Bryson’s appetite to write about China’s cities, he replies honestly: “Well, I don’t know. It’s always tricky to write a book about a culture you don’t understand, or people you don’t know.”
But the author says he is more than happy to visit the country again in the near future.