If you’re slightly terrified by the news that Facebook’s AI chatbots were shut down because they began communicating in a language unintelligible to humans, then you’re not alone. Many people have expressed concern over this, and understandably so.
AI robots creating their own language certainly sounds a lot like the plot of an apocalyptic sci-fi film, but before you get rid of all your smart devices and move into an underground bunker, consider a few things first.
In the case of Facebook’s loquacious chatbots, the creation of a new language was somewhat of a mistake on the programmer’s part. Apparently, the chatbots were not told to communicate specifically in a language comprehensible to humans–so they didn’t. Rather than having to“pull the plug” on the AI technology all together, as many media outlets have suggested, programmers are simply able to re-write the coding–altering some of the rules the technology works by.
There is a massive difference between AI chatbots, and other digital assistants like Siri or Alexa, and machine learning technology like IBM’s Watson. An Inc. article refers to digital assistant platforms as “glorified web search and basic voice interaction tools” who “can’t hold a candle to IBM’s Watson.”
IBM’s AI robot Watson, perhaps most famously known for beating Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings in 2011, has been applied to a variety of astounding tasks–like analyzing the personality traits of each “Game of Thrones” character and predicting their next moves in season six, for instance.
All jokes aside, Watson is a supercomputer that combines AI with machine learning. Applications of its cognitive computing technology are almost endless.
Also on Watson’s impressive resume is the fight to cure cancer. With the help of twenty top cancer institutes, IBM is teaching Watson about cancer and cancer treatment so that it will be able to scour through the most recent research findings and clinical trials and compile big data to discover new treatment insights.
But don’t let Watson’s immense learning capabilities scare you either. Watson and Senior Vice President of IBM, David Kenny recently, went to Washington to argue that artificial intelligence isn’t really that bad.
Other AI experts, like Adam Cheyer, co-founder of Apple’s Siri and virtual assistant AI startup Viv, are taking a stand for AI technology. Adam compared the fear that AI will become too smart to worrying about overpopulation on Mars. “We’re barely at the beginning of A.I.,” he said. “There’s nothing to even be done yet.”
Watson creator Dr. David Ferrucci assures that Watson was designed for very specific purposes, and it’s not likely that it will ever become sentient and venture beyond exactly what it is programmed to do, “Watson is designed to deeply analyze existing content and help people make decisions, not to be an independent entity.”
