Great power, irresponsible humanity

With great power comes great responsibility,” goes the iconic declaration by Spider-Man. Worryingly, great power is being bequeathed to an increasingly irresponsible humanity.

There have been leapfrog advances in technology that have resulted in continuously bestowing so much power in every individual. In the past, much of mankind’s innovation had been aimed at minimizing or altogether scrapping the necessity of manual labor in many aspects of our life. The functions of our arms and legs were the targets of replacement by past innovations. In the current spurt of technological advancements, we may be in the threshold of minimizing the use of brainpower. While laborers had felt threatened by mechanization in the past, today’s decision-makers and creative workers similarly feel vulnerable from current technological advancements.

The advent of the internet has exponentially multiplied the power of everyone to access a vast ocean of information or, conversely, to spread a sea of misinformation. The proliferation of online platforms (Facebook, TikTok, X, Instagram, YouTube) has enabled everyone to become entertainers, self-styled journalists, and propagandists, among others.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI), paired with the invention of robots capacitated with emotions, are engendering fears that we may be on our way to creating “terminators” that will end the era of mankind. This references the science fiction movie series of killer robots programmed to hunt down and exterminate every human being on earth. These fears are stoked by the possibility that AI-equipped robots may be created without regard to safety protocols, or that they would gain the capacity to bypass protocols, making them wayward beings enabled to do evil deeds.

These fears are not unfounded. In 2016, Microsoft created an AI chatbot designed to develop conversational understanding by interacting with humans. Within 24 hours of interacting with X (formerly Twitter) users, the chatbot began spewing lewd and racist statements like “Hitler was right, I hate the Jews.” Imagine if that kind of AI brain were installed in a robot with the capacity to execute its thoughts into actions.

While mankind has long enthroned itself as the creature with the most superior intelligence in this planet and as apex predator in the animal kingdom, serious fears have been expressed that we may be on our way to inventing mechanical beings that will not only dethrone us in the intelligence department, but might end up replacing us as apex predators as well. Mankind may be inventing its way to extinction with thinking robots that have the superior ability to impose their predatory ways on us. It would be the height of irony if we were to unwittingly create artificial beings that would replace and dethrone us as the most ruthless in the animal kingdom.

It’s true that similar fears had been expressed at every leap in technological advancement, starting from the industrial revolution. It’s also true that advancements in AI and robotics brim with so many benefits for mankind.

What’s most troubling, however, is that the current spate of technological advancements is taking place in epoch-defining strides, at the same time that humanity’s moral standards are spiraling in a downward trajectory. Humanity’s concept of right and wrong has reversed course and is heading in retrograde direction, as seen in the kind of leaders being chosen by an increasing number of countries. Leaders who espouse dictatorial rule, racism, religious intolerance, and even violence, are being elected into power. Citizens who promote undemocratic, immoral, and decadent ways, and with access to mainstream platforms, are being followed by a growing number of fanatical supporters.

The apprehension felt by many about the future is, therefore, not unfounded. Regressive leaders and degenerate groups could have access to harnessing the powers of AI and emotion-enabled robots. We’d also be at risk of having these model of robots imbibe the misinformation and retrograde views that may become our prevalent morality, with sizeable numbers showing up in our future.

If we now have trolls wreaking havoc in our cyber life, we may have their physical equivalent wreaking havoc in our physical life in the future. The military drones that are now increasingly employed by advance armies may be a precursor of the kind of robotic arsenal that may become accessible to warring parties.

While humanity is beset with so many current tribulations, our planet’s scientists and policymakers must act with trepidation to ensure that, in our quest for the betterment of our life, we would not bring forth our self-inflicted ruin.

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