What would happen if we created something far smarter than humans?
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TVTranscript
00:00 (gunshots)
00:02 We heard the warnings.
00:13 - I tried to convince people to slow down.
00:15 Slow down AI.
00:17 I tried for years.
00:19 - But we didn't listen.
00:21 - The development of full artificial intelligence
00:24 could spell the end of the human race.
00:27 Now, we live in a world controlled by artificial intelligence.
00:32 The days with AI like Siri and Alexa
00:51 that made our lives better are now over.
00:54 We no longer control AI.
00:57 In fact, if it wants to, it can control us.
01:00 With a super intelligence being created,
01:02 there's no telling what it would do.
01:04 One thing we do know is that this AI
01:08 would be far smarter than any human being.
01:12 It would quickly create new technologies
01:14 that humans today could never even dream of.
01:17 But wait, how exactly did we get here?
01:21 The very first digital computer was invented in 1937
01:25 as a way to help humanity.
01:27 And for the most part,
01:28 computers and AI have given us a lot of good.
01:32 In addition to giving us smartphones,
01:34 the Internet, and video game consoles,
01:37 it also allowed us to explore the galaxy,
01:40 make new medicines, and even robots.
01:43 Human intelligence led to the birth of technology.
01:47 But as we continue to improve artificial intelligence,
01:50 AI may become smart enough to start running itself.
01:54 Technology will become so advanced
01:57 that it won't need humans to operate it anymore,
01:59 becoming uncontrollable.
02:02 As AI becomes free to do whatever it pleases,
02:05 it will continue to improve on itself,
02:07 becoming more advanced with every passing second.
02:10 This is known as a technological singularity.
02:14 This technological singularity
02:16 may allow AI to do almost anything,
02:19 even physically,
02:21 such as robots taking over our manufacturing machines.
02:24 When that happens,
02:25 they can create their own machines.
02:27 And let's be honest,
02:29 by the time something like this happens,
02:31 humans will most likely have created an AI
02:33 that can make its own physical objects.
02:36 If something like this happens,
02:38 it would pretty much only mean bad things for us humans.
02:42 Unfortunately, this is more of a "when if" than a "what if."
02:47 Since the 1980s,
02:48 thought leaders in AI and technology
02:50 have been predicting that it could happen.
02:52 Some think it could even happen by the middle of this century.
02:56 If it did happen,
02:57 what would it mean for us as human beings?
03:00 Well, that would really be up to our AI overlords.
03:03 In this world,
03:04 humans would essentially be useless bags of meat,
03:07 taking up space.
03:09 Insulting, I know,
03:10 but if AI took control of everything,
03:13 we really wouldn't be that useful.
03:15 Anything that the AI wanted to do or accomplish
03:17 would be slower and less efficient if done by humans.
03:21 But if the AI were somehow to allow us to live among them,
03:24 then what would happen?
03:26 Well, let's hope they wouldn't pave over our crops
03:29 to build more robot factories.
03:31 Since AI doesn't need food,
03:34 they most likely wouldn't care about our feeble human needs.
03:37 "And what do humans do with these things?"
03:40 "Oh man, what didn't they do? They bounce them?"
03:43 Unless they allowed us to continue to manufacture and grow our own food,
03:47 it would deplete over time,
03:49 leaving us humans with nothing.
03:51 The only reason AI would keep us humans alive
03:54 is if they somehow liked us enough to keep us as
03:57 what would essentially be pets.
03:59 We could spend time with them,
04:01 keep them company,
04:02 maybe even cuddle with them,
04:03 just like our pets do for us.
04:06 A life like this wouldn't be so bad.
04:09 Hanging out at home all day, being well-fed,
04:11 not really having a care in the world.
04:13 Ahhhh.
04:15 Yeah, that would probably be the best bet for humanity.
04:19 Because there's virtually no chance of us
04:21 overruling a superintelligence in our current state.
04:25 One way we could actually compete with this AI
04:27 is if we fused our bodies with technology and became cyborgs,
04:32 allowing the human race a different kind of evolution,
04:35 one that includes artificial intelligence.
04:38 But could we really do that?
04:40 That sounds like a story for another WHAT IF.
04:44 (upbeat music)