By Lara Santos
Artificial Intelligence has been receiving a lot of attention, in the media and our daily lives, for a while now. But what exactly is it, and why are we afraid it may take over our lives?
To put it short: AI is a branch of computer science that replicates human intelligence and its capacities. It is able to process information and learn from the past in order to improve.
The idea of AI originates from ancient philosophers who created “automatons”: moving mechanical devices, that imitate human beings. This suggests an early human interest in creating machines that can work independently. One can argue whether this suggests that humans are, in our nature, lazy, or driven.
However, it was much later, between 1940 and 1960, that people started developing a deeper interest in linking technology with human cognitive functions. Various science fiction movies were produced in the first half of the 20th century, introducing the concept of artificial intelligence to the world. For example, the robot named Maria, in the movie “Metropolis”.
It was John Von Neumann and Alan Turing who made the drastic change in the computer industry (as we weren’t initially “high-tech” enough to keep up with the wish to develop AI). Turing raised the question of the possibility of linking intelligence and machines. He questioned why machines couldn’t use reason to “think”, while humans could. The same year, Turing wrote a paper called Computing Machinery and Intelligence, discussing various topics around AI.
Finally, thanks to a workshop at Dartmouth in 1955, held by John McCarty, this idea of AI became famous among scientists. Three years later, the leader of the workshop created the first programming language for AI research, which is still popular nowadays.
Around that time, Herbert Simon (economist and sociologist) stated that AI would succeed in beating a human at chess in the next 10 years. This dream did become reality.
Nowadays, starting from around the year 2022, we often come across the term “ChatGPT” (originally founded in 2019). Our significant advancements in technology allow this AI to perform a wide range of tasks, such as creating images based on a sentence, or even writing whole essays about various topics.
This tool has created a “hype” among us, as it has now become more accessible. Social media trends have formed, such as the “90’s AI yearbook”, where AI creates pictures with people’s faces in different outfits, in a 90’s era style.
Many people argue that AI will take over our lives, replacing employees in certain fields of work, to increase productivity and efficiency. There is fear that this may mean AI could control us, possibly replacing individuals and influencing their decision-making.
However, scientists say that AI will not replace humans, and predict an “AI Winter”. An AI Winter is described as a “quiet period”, during which people will reduce their funding and interest in Artificial Intelligence research. This will most likely happen after a period of AI-prosperity among all of society. Now, ChatGPT is very widely and consistently used; but the theory is that after a while, it will become a rather repetitive platform, and cease to interest us.
At this moment, Artificial Intelligence is quite present in our daily lives. But only the future can show how this innovation will grow in the years to come.
