On the one hand, the increasing intelligence of technology should bring
some obvious benefits. Machines are clearly able to do many jobs better
than humans can, especially in areas that require high levels of accuracy or
calculations using large amounts of data. For example, robots are being
developed that can carry out surgical procedures with greater precision
than a human doctor, and we already have cars that use sensors and
cameras to drive themselves. Such technologies can improve safety by
reducing the likelihood of human errors. It is easy to imagine how these
developments, and many others, will steadily improve our quality of life.
On the other hand, I share the concerns of people who believe that artificial
intelligence may harm us if we are not careful. In the short term, it is likely
that we will see a rise in unemployment as workers in various industries
are replaced by machines or software programs. For example, self-driving
vehicles are expected to cause redundancies in driving jobs, such as lorry
drivers, taxi drivers and bus drivers. In the medium term, if intelligent
technologies gradually take jobs away from humans, we may find that
people become deskilled and lose their sense of purpose in life.
A longerterm fear is that computers become so intelligent that they begin to make
decisions without human oversight and without regard for our well-being.
In conclusion, while intelligent machines will no doubt improve our lives
in many ways, the potential risks of such technologies should not be
ignored.