By Terry Boyle
Recently, my sister sent me a bizarre video. Our niece used an app to create an extraordinary scene between my dead sister and herself. The ‘hugging app’ uses two-dimensional photographs to construct a three-dimensional experience. The static person in the two-dimensional picture is brought to life and is seen hugging a person from another photograph.
When I first saw the video, I was quite shocked. Technology has advanced at a much greater rate than I thought possible. The creation of such developments raises a lot of moral and ethical questions.
Some would argue, that bringing the dead to life in such a way could bring comfort to those grieving. It could also be argued that it creates a false reality that does not enable the grief-stricken person to let go of the dead.
If an app can fabricate reality in this way, what else might be possible? A hug may only be the beginning.
I’m sure you’ve heard about Google’s quantum chip. The chip, named Willow, can complete tasks in a much faster time than any of our supercomputers. The claim is that Willow completed a task that would take the fastest of our computers ten septillion years, in five minutes.
While there is speculation that some of the news around this development is nothing more than hype, there is enough evidence to suggest that it’s only a matter of time before this technology finally becomes a reality, and that will change everything. Once we have mastered the necessary codes to create such a rapid problem-solving machine, who knows where it will lead?
The hope is that it will aid in pharmacology and speed up the development of new drugs. The development of quantum chips could also produce less greenhouse gas emissions.
AI and the Legal System
But as we’ve seen with every development, there is also a downside. Technology in the wrong hand can also be used in nefarious ways. This leads us to another problem; can the present legal system keep up with these developments?
In other words, our present system of creating laws to protect its citizens from such abuses is too slow. By the time a law is passed, it’s too late, the horse has already bolted. We’re already seeing how difficult it is to rein in such misuse of technology.
In the time it takes to create a law, the damage has been done, or the creators have found another way to facilitate their not-so-good intentions. If we are to really take control over these areas and prevent catastrophic consequences, we need to find ways to speed up our legal system.
There must be some degree of skepticism when it comes to celebrating such breakthroughs in the technological field. If we listen only to the companies, they will of course spin us a lovely story of the future potential of their creations. They’re in the business of selling us the positive outcome for their financial benefit.
We need people who can be objective enough to ask the hard questions. Asking such questions doesn’t make you a luddite. You’re not a technophobe when you’re curious about the dangers of technology.
New Developments in Technology
I love technology. We’ve come a long way in such a short time. Who, from my generation, would’ve thought it possible to carry around in our pockets a small computer with the capability to do so much? We can use it as a phone, a camera, send messages, pay bills and a host of other things.
These new developments have become an intrinsic part of our everyday life. You only have to leave the house without your mobile phone to realize how important it has become. These technological devices continue to serve us well, so well that we’ve weaned our children on them. We have become so dependent on these devices that we are at a loss without them.
I’m reminded of the child used to using an iPad who is given a book and is completely flummoxed by it. The child tries to scroll the book as if it were an iPad.
Skepticism is not a bad thing when it comes to technology. It should make us feel cautious about what we’re attempting to do. Someone who asks difficult questions does so to ascertain the full scope of what a thing can do, both bad and good.
AI Skepticism
We need such sceptics in a time such as this. We need scientists like Stephen Hawking, who questioned the idea of developing Artificial Intelligence, wondering if we might be creating our own destruction.
We need to be skeptical of those who dismiss such questions as fear-mongering, or worse again, treat such opinions as irrelevant and far-fetched. The most important discovery may not be the invention, but the motivation behind the creation.
Is this futuristic step forward motivated by evolution or monetary gain? Sometimes it’s hard to get beyond the promoter’s pitch to see their true motivation. That’s when we need people who see beyond the hype.
We are creating a new world, a world that will cultivate an even greater dependency on technology. If we want to ensure that this new world is a safe and good one, we need to be brave enough to question those who are in the process of developing our future.
It’s not enough to be sold on the idea that all technology is good; we need to also know how it will negatively affect us in the long term. What is the trade-off for such developments?
If children are weaned on technology, will they understand what it is to play with other children? If AI is given the ability to make decisions regarding our future, are we in safe hands?
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Terry Boyle
*Terry is a retired professor now living in Southern California. Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, in 2004 Terry took up a position at Loyola University, Chicago where he taught courses on Irish and British literature. Apart from teaching, Terry has had several plays produced and has recently been included in The Best New British and Irish Poets 2019 - 2021 (published by The Black Spring Press). He can be reached at: [email protected]
