A 14 Year Old’s View of Artificial Intelligence

There is a Lebanese saying that goes like this, “فرخ البط عوام” – roughly translates to “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Today, I am not your writer, this is a copy/paste of something my daughter wrote for a school essay. I thought it would be interesting to share how kids are looking at Artificial Intelligence (AI) and get a more innocuous view of the world. Here is what Jane wrote:

Can AI Take Over the World?

“The capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.’’

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has been accomplished by studying the patterns of the human brain and by analyzing the cognitive process. The outcome of these studies develops intelligent software and systems. With this said, AI can do a lot of things humans can’t do such as making decisions quickly and accurately. So, the general question on ‘when’ or ‘if’ Artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence gets thrown around. I will argue that AI can’t and won’t surpass human intelligence.

The AI lacks emotional intelligence, so no matter how well-programmed the artificially intelligent machines are to respond to humans, humans are unlikely to develop an emotional attachment to them. Which would affect the workplace as connecting with others is vital to business growth. In summery AI wouldn’t be able to surpass humans in the workplace, given the fact they lack emotional intelligence.

AI won’t surpass its creators; AI is still limited in its abilities. While AI algorithms can be trained to perform specific tasks with a high degree of accuracy, they are not capable of the kind of creative thinking and problem-solving that humans excel at. To sum up, AI lacks human qualities, and isn’t able to think outside the box making it unable to transcend a human’s intelligence.

Some may claim that AI can be used for countless jobs especially ones that are unsafe for humans like mines and construction. Which would lead in a decrease of injuries and deaths. Although this may be true and could be a huge win, this can also lead to job losses and job mismatches as people who worked in these jobs wouldn’t have a different profession to work in, and to add to that, there would be a high demand for mechanics and engineers for the AI’s which would lead to job mismatches.

To conclude, AI couldn’t and wouldn’t surpass human intelligence in account for lack of emotional intelligence, lack of creative thinking, and problems that would occur if AI took physical jobs such as construction.

Well folks, this was my daughter’s unedited Verbal Breakdown, till the next one, keep it safe, keep it real, and keep it simple.

Ralph

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not to the author’s employer, organization, committee, or other group or individual.