Sam Harris: Developing AI is Humanity "Building Some Sort of God"

Artificial Intelligence is set to be a major part of the future of technology. Laboratories all over the world are making algorithms and machines that can do amazing feats, like make music or actually listen and speak like a human.

But with this level of progress, many are sounding warning bells regarding the development of super-intelligent AI. In this TED talk, neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris examines how and why people should be more scared of AI becoming more intelligent that us.

 

Harris says that this kind of super-intelligence is not only possible, but inevitable. But once we build something as smart as us, it could start improving itself in ways we may have never imagined. One day, AI might start looking at us the way we look at ants, easily brushed aside if our interests don't align with those of the machine(s).

Sam is an America philosopher, author, and neuroscientist. He is famous for his critiques against religion, and has been dubbed one of the "Four Horsemen of New Atheism."

Harris joins a host of technology big shots that are warning us to be more prudent in making AI. Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates— these are just some of the famous people who want us to start the ethical debate on the development of AI.