Artificial Intelligence and the future

Humankind is on the threshold of a new and exciting age. The technological advancements in the field of artificial intelligence will have tremendous implications for our collective future. Humans have always sought to be more efficient, doing more with less has been the driving force for our evolution. Now, we are building systems that will replace free-thought and choice, albeit unwittingly. Already, the music you listen to, the top items on an eCommerce app, the content you are recommended on OTT platforms, the travel destinations that are advertised to you, all take cues from algorithms. For now, these algorithms are written by humans, but increasingly we are building code that will ask the machine to apply statistical theories to evaluate the most efficient solution. Herein lies the problem, what AI learns can only be as good as what was input into the system. A system created based with inherent human bias, and flawed outcomes a. ka. profit, will ultimately set the needs of the few against the needs of the many. To some, this may sound more of the same, but humankind has never had to compete against a machine yet in our history. We live in interesting times indeed.