As society evolves, so does our technology – at faster rates than ever before. Part of this involves the expansion and progression of not only human intelligence, but artificial intelligence as well. Remarkably, AI – or perhaps “Artificial Alien,” as Kelly describes in “The Inevitable” – is making its emergence in almost every industry, including medical, manufacturing, and marketing. Of particular interest is the rise of the AI in our personal lives – as virtual assistants in our homes and cars. Beyond the help provided by these AI powered assistants, artificial intelligence is increasingly adopting human-like characteristics. Earlier this year, in May 2018, Google unveiled a demo of its most recent developments for its virtual assistant – the Google Duplex, capable of imitating a human voice to make a call on its owner’s behalf. Until this point, users have relied on artificially intelligent assistants to perform certain functions by communicating directly with their devices. Now, however, a shift is occurring, as evident by the principles behind the technology of Google Duplex. We are no longer simply communicating with AI devices, in a 1-to-1 relationship between the user and the machine. Our devices are now purporting to communicate for us, acting as their own agents to engage in intelligent, coherent conversation with others. With the release of such technology as the Duplex, it will soon be impossible to determine exactly with whom – or what – we’re communicating.
As our devices get smarter, what are the implications and consequences for our society? How does our increasing dependence on smart, deep learning machines affect our own understanding of what “human intelligence” and purpose is? What do the ever increasing ubiquity and capabilities of AI – powered assistants entail for the future of communication? As AI becomes a formidable entity of its own, what happens to the individual, the “I”, in this process?
Some resources:
https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/duplex-ai-system-for-natural-conversation.html