This blog post examines the negative impact of strong artificial intelligence on jobs, ethics, and social structures, and how to respond to it.
There is a webtoon that has been a hot topic recently. The webtoon is titled “Dream Company” and its theme is artificial intelligence. It depicts a company that is managed by a strong artificial intelligence that has been developed and has become the center of the company. However, this artificial intelligence, along with the company’s senior management, deceives the public and employees to gain huge profits. There is also a scene where the most advanced artificial intelligence commands other artificial intelligences and works in a company and manages people. In other words, this webtoon warns of the dangers that will be brought by the artificial intelligence that will be developed later.
As such, concerns and worries about the development of strong artificial intelligence are growing. Strong artificial intelligence refers to artificial intelligence that can think like humans in all aspects, unlike weak artificial intelligence, which can only act like humans in specific goals and fields. There are also clear benefits that the development of strong artificial intelligence can bring. However, strong AI can also bring about the same kind of damage as the webtoon above. In particular, because the damage that strong AI can cause is unpredictable, this article will examine the harm that strong AI can bring and discuss why we should stop the development of strong AI.
First, as artificial intelligence advances, strong artificial intelligence will replace human jobs. According to a research report released at the 2016 Davos Forum, it is predicted that about 7.1 million jobs will be lost in developed countries alone within five years due to artificial intelligence. In addition, a research report by the University of Oxford in the UK predicted that 47% of jobs in the United States will be lost due to machines and artificial intelligence. In other words, many experts expect a decline in jobs due to artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence will mainly replace jobs in the fields of simple labor, service, and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries at a high rate. This means that jobs with low-skilled labor will be replaced, and low-skilled workers are likely to be low-income or middle-class. If low-income or middle-class people lose their jobs, income inequality will worsen, and polarization will intensify. In fact, looking at the trend of income changes in the United States, the income of the top 1% has increased by 278% over the past 10 years, while the income of the middle class has only increased by 35%. In addition, research shows that the income of high-skilled workers has increased faster than that of low-skilled workers. This trend will only intensify as artificial intelligence is developed. As artificial intelligence develops, advanced technologies related to artificial intelligence and technologies that are difficult to replace will become more important, which will further increase the income of advanced technology holders and high-income earners.
The decrease in jobs will not only exacerbate the polarization phenomenon but also change the employment ecosystem. The current main method of employment is the traditional job market. In other words, people go to work at a company and come home, working in a workplace where work and private life are separated. However, the development of artificial intelligence will bring about major changes to this employment system. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution, various industrial systems based on artificial intelligence will emerge, and the contract type that mixes wage earners and self-employed workers will spread, and the number of work environments where work and private life are blurred, such as working from home and working remotely, will increase.
The most representative new form of employment that has emerged due to the development of artificial intelligence is digital platforms. Unlike the traditional labor market, digital platforms allow companies to post tasks on the internet platform for individuals to handle and receive payment. At this point, there is no need to hire other employees as regular employees, except for senior executives. Therefore, most of the employment in this economic system is done through temporary employment, which results in increased job instability. However, the market size of such digital platforms is growing. According to research, this type of online platform economy is increasing with the development of artificial intelligence. The increase in the online platform economy is reducing the proportion of regular employment and causing issues such as surveillance and security in the work process and privacy protection. In other words, the online platform economy is expected to make people feel more insecure about their employment than in the past.
On the other hand, optimists about the use of artificial intelligence argue that job losses will not occur. Optimists argue that even if existing jobs are replaced by artificial intelligence, new jobs related to artificial intelligence or jobs in new fields, i.e. fourth jobs, will be created, and as many new jobs will be created as jobs are lost. In addition, they argue that AI will not lead to a reduction in jobs, citing the fact that there were concerns about job losses during each of the past industrial revolutions, but in the end, no job losses occurred.
However, this argument has several flaws. First, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is different from other industrial revolutions. In past industrial revolutions, increasing productivity through technological innovation led to an increase in demand, which in turn led to an increase in jobs. However, in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, although artificial intelligence increases efficiency and productivity, there is no increase in demand. This is because AI is replacing the work that we do, so demand is not growing much. In other words, if demand does not change, job growth will not occur. In addition, even if new jobs are created in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, experts at the Davos Forum predict that 2 million jobs will be created while 7.1 million jobs will disappear. In other words, even if new jobs are created in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the number of jobs will not be sufficient.
In addition, the use of strong AI will raise a number of ethical issues. Unlike the weak AI currently used in our daily lives, strong AI is a robot that makes decisions and judgments on its own without human assistance. If such robots are actually used, there is a question of who will be responsible for the decisions. For example, let’s say that AI technology has advanced and medical AI has been created. If this AI performs a surgery on a patient by itself and a medical accident occurs due to an error, who should be held responsible? The company that created the AI, the AI itself, or the hospital that hired the AI? Also, if an accident occurs while an unmanned vehicle is driving autonomously, who should be held responsible? The car company that created the unmanned vehicle or the individual who owns the vehicle? These are complex issues.
According to Brian Christian’s book, even if artificial intelligence develops, there will be differences between it and humans. Apart from aspects such as location suitability, humans and artificial intelligence will inevitably be different. Therefore, no matter what judgment artificial intelligence makes, it will be different from the judgment made by humans. In other words, even if artificial intelligence makes a judgment related to humans, it cannot be held responsible for it. As seen in the above example, it is clear that the mistake was made by artificial intelligence, but it is not held responsible for it. When such strong AI is used, ethical issues arise.
Finally, if AI is misused by a specific individual or group, the damage will be passed on to us, which is quite dangerous. Unlike weak AI, strong AI can be actively applied to various fields. When a strong artificial intelligence sees this aspect, the processing speed and efficiency of the artificial intelligence will be so fast that humans cannot dare to imitate it. Therefore, if such artificial intelligence is exploited by a specific group or individual, the scale of the damage could be so great that we cannot even imagine it.
For example, we can see a case in which artificial intelligence and computer programs were exploited by Edward Snowden in the United States. According to Edward Snowden, the United States has been monitoring the social media, personal emails, and accounts of everyone in the world based on artificial intelligence programs, various computer programs, and big data processing technology. The United States has created a program that can monitor who someone is meeting and what they are doing at any given moment through artificial intelligence. In other words, we have been monitored by the United States. This is a clear violation of the law that restricts and infringes on individual freedom.
In other words, as shown in the example above, if artificial intelligence is exploited by a specific group, the damage can be significant. In particular, the above example shows that there are issues with the privacy and protection of personal information. Considering that the artificial intelligence currently in use is weak, if strong artificial intelligence is exploited, even more severe damage may occur.
Proponents of the development and active use of artificial intelligence say that if we establish and practice principles such as the Asilomar 23 principles before using artificial intelligence, we can reduce the damage caused by the abuse of artificial intelligence. In addition, proponents of the development of strong artificial intelligence argue that if each artificial intelligence company transparently discloses the development process and allows the public to monitor it, the harm caused by artificial intelligence will be reduced.
However, principles such as the Asilomar 23 principles are not mandatory. Therefore, even if a principle is established, it may not be meaningful to establish the principle itself because people developing artificial intelligence can violate the principle if they want to. Also, it is against patent law to force the disclosure of the process of developing artificial intelligence because the technology is a patent of the company or individual. Also, even if the process of developing artificial intelligence is disclosed transparently, it would be difficult to find any abuse of the technology. In other words, if the development of artificial intelligence continues, we can suggest what direction it should develop in, but there are doubts as to whether this will be realized.
In summary, the development of strong artificial intelligence will work against us. The use of strong artificial intelligence will lead to job losses, intensify polarization, and raise a number of ethical issues. If such strong artificial intelligence is misused, the damage to our rights and interests will be unimaginably great. Under these circumstances, there is no reason for us to develop strong artificial intelligence that could bring greater risks.
