Slow Train Coming
Why Artificial Intelligence Won’t Be Applied To Our Most Urgent Needs
It’s impossible at present to avoid chatter about how AI is supposedly going to change the world. Whether it’s pundits proffering Utopian dreams or sci-fi zombies babbling about Skynet-type apocalypses, AI talk seems to be everywhere. Even the recent stock market bubble (which is presently deflating in an entirely predictable manner) was largely driven by misguided enthusiasm about the supposed glories that AI will deliver.
Personally, I’m sure AI will in time yield improvements in certain areas. We already know that AI can do a better job of detecting anomalies in X-rays and MRI scans than the average radiologist. We know AI can process vast quantities of seemingly disparate data and find subtle connections that can be used for a wide variety of purposes, the most obvious of which lie within the Intelligence communities of various nations. No doubt as engineers begin to combine certain types of AI with robotics, this will result in some extremely useful inventions. And AI can doubtless further improve logistics and create additional efficiencies.
But there are a few very important areas, I suspect, based on historical evidence and based on fundamental human psychology, where AI will be prevented from having much impact for at least the next…
