AI advances raise hopes – and fears

THE rapid advancement of artificial intelligence

(AI) has stoked fear that the technology will one day take control of human destiny. However, experts believe humans are still able to be the masters of their own fate by making the machines they have invented work for their benefit.

AI’s power has been demonstrated, for example, by the successive wins by Google’s AlphaGo over the best human Go players early this year. Tech companies have used the technology’s ability to make sophisticated choices based on deep learning to facilitate trade in the stock market.

EquBot LLC, a US-based company which launched the world’s first AI-powered Exchange-Traded Fund in the New York Stock Exchange in October, said its product can simulate the work of equity research analysts and work around the clock in an “almost fullyautomated” process.

“The AI technology employed by Equbot can process more data than the portfolio manager it has replaced and “generate unbiased decisions under a set of investment criteria”, according to the company.

AI has also been applied in the diagnosis of skin cancer, in which the algorithm involved has reached a level on a par with professional doctors in dermatology.

It is also featured in the latest iPhone’s facial recognition function, and helps Facebook to target users showing intention to commit suicide, so as to prevent the tragedies.

But use of AI is still limited to isolated fields and lacks universal applicability.

People familiar with the AI industry have warned that the technology will evolve enough to break the sectoral confines.

Elon Musk, chief executive of aerospace manufacturer SpaceX and electric car producer Tesla, has predicted a future scenario where “super AI” will pose real threats to the very existence of mankind, and human beings will have to face that challenge. – Xinhua