Hi everyone... I'm a high school student who is recently conducting a reseach for my thesis with the topic "Artificial Intelligence: A threat to Mankind." If anyone is interested to give me ideas, informations and opinions about my topic... feel free to share it to me... I'll be really glad to include it to my study. It will help me to improve my thesis and do my defense well. Hope you'll help me. I'll be waiting for your replies!!! I will also post updates of the drafts I have made... Thanks a lot...

You must understand, artificial intelligence is not a threat to mankind just like a gun is not a threat to a person. However, the users (or creators) of the AI can be a threat just like the gun wielder can be a threat. AI isn't dangerous, unless it falls into the wrong hands. Even if an AI were "accidentally" created to be as intelligent as us and it "unexpectedly" turned against us, unless the people in control of the machine allowed it to have access to weapons or other harmful equipment, it can't be of any harm. On the other hand, if the people in control of it don't keep it within secured boundaries (such as kept in the lab) then such as AI can be dangerous. However, I would also like to mention that the likelyhood af an AI "accidentally" becoming as intelligent as us is unlikely. The human brain is not a chaotic mess that can easily be created by accident. It is a highly well structured and organized cellular network that is extremely complex for us to understand at the present time. Complexity can seem choatic (hence the idea of accidental intelligent creations), but it's more like a long string balled up into hundreds or knots. It isn't easy to unravel because there's so many dependencies that each part has to another. AI isn't dangerous. It's just another tool. A self-aware, intelligent machine will only occur through purposeful work. In other words, it will be expected when it's created. In my opinion, I would try and disprove or refute the claim that AI is a threat.

The Intellector

I truly appreciate your opinions. I would really appreciate if you could share to me more of your knowledge. I must admit that I will be please to learn more about Artificial Intelligece. I have a defense coming up and I am well aware that I should get ready. However,I still need lot of thing to learn. I hope you could help me. By the way, can I include your opinions for my research? I would need some personal data about you. That is if it is okay. Thank You Very Much!

First, I'm not going to answer all questions in the questionnaire. However, I will hit on some.

Your "Fact" is not a wise starting point, and that is where the danger comes in. You do NOT want to make a machine more intelligent than a human, if and when it is possible. The first goal is to make a machine that exhibits intelligence equal to an animals (such as a cat or dog). Then, through careful study along the way, you'll want to get to human level intelligence. Once it has acheived that level, leave it there. A machine as intelligent as us can be dangerous enough in the wrong hands. And in such hands, if it did become a threat, it can't always outsmart us and we can gain the upperhand. However, if we created a machine that is more intelligent than us, we'll have a much harder time outsmarting it and stopping it if it falls into the wrong hands. Human level intelligence is not a simple system. It is very complex and tricky. If and when we achieve the ability to create such machines, very few should be created (maximum of 1 in my opinion) and they should be monitored and study constantly.

Machines can be creative and they can have emotions. Once scientists learn how our neural nets create emotions, they can be replicated by machines. At this point, it's all a matter of proper neural circuitry. We can already create decently accurate neuron models, therefore, all that's left is the circuitry to make them perform intelligent functions, including creativity and emotions.

However, even if circuitry is the major issue at this point, it still doesn't mean we're close to human level intelligence. We still don't even have a machine with the intelligence of a rat. The circuitry is perhaps more complex than the neurons themselves. Also, the glial cells (the other 90% of the brain) contributes to neural processing in a big way. Those cells are still being heavily researched. So, neurons are only a small part in the whole picture. Human intelligence may be reached in this century but probably not in this decade or perhaps even the next.

A lot of your other questions lead me back to my previous post's point: We control the AI, it does not control us. If it becomes a rampaging Terminator, its because we let it become that way. Even if it were possible for the AI to become "self-aware" on its own unexpectedly, unless we're stupid and let it control our military (like Skynet for instance) before it's fully tested, it can't harm us.
We are the creators of AI. It can't create itself. Therefore, we control it.

The Intellector

Please reply to my messages. Thank You...

May I ask permission to use your opinion in my research however I would need some informations about you. Also I have a couple of questions for you regarding Artificial Intelligence.
1.) Can we already count in our fingers the years that scientists might developed a true A.I. which is human like in fashion?
2.) How far can an A.I. go? How long would be their life span, for example?
3.)Regarding "skynet", I believe it is fictional however, I wonder that they could be such in reality. Of course, there would also be Cyberdyne Systems Corporation. Do you think my hypothesis is possible? Like, maybe Japan is secretly planning something that they will just unleash in the future.
4.) What does it take to build an A.I.? Can A.I. help, for example, in a country's economy once it will be reproduced?
5.) I'm aware how people are innocent about the real world of A.I and how they exist.. My study or research is to let them know about what is the future in store for us with these robots and so. As I have watched from the movies though it might be fictional for now, what is your own prediction about A.I.?
*If you could answer all the questions please do so. Sorry if I have a poor construction of queries. I guess my level of knowledge about A.I is not very wide as you do, so please help me. This research is very important for me, this will be my key to graduate. I really choose to study about A.I. because I am very curios about its nature. To tell you the truth, I have a thought, that maybe, the one answering my questions is perhaps an A.I. or a very smart computer/robot/machine, just kidding.
If you have friends who knows about A.I please tell them to share their knowledge. Thank you so much! God Bless you!