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On December 2, 2014, Stephen Hawking suggested that “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” His argument is that humans could not compete with an AI which would redesign itself and reach an intelligence that could surpass that of humans. WORDS ALI PARANDEH
Silicon Chip Inside Her Head T
he title of this article is actually part of the lyrics of a song by The Boomtown Rats and the words that follow are “gets switched to overload”. The song was actually about a shooting tragedy in a school and not too far off the script of the movie Terminator, with a twist. In this movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a robot that becomes selfaware and perceives all humans as a threat, seeking to wipe out humanity itself. The movie might still sound like fantasy to some, but its subject is a debate at the heart of Artificial Intelligence. In the next few articles I will cover the trend and changes that have come, may come or are about to come in different forms. I would like to start this article with the Internet of Things (IoT). In the 2000 movie The Sixth Day, a story set in a futuristic 2015 about a family man (Arnold Schwarzenegger, again, who is cloned without his knowledge or consent), an Internet fridge talks to Arnold informing him that the milk is off and asks him to confirm a new order. In fact that same year in June, LG had launched
the world’s first Internet refrigerator. While unsuccessful at launch, the latest 2014 model (approx. €12,000) has received very good reviews. While it will be some time before we upgrade our main home appliances, for most of you reading this article you will have already purchased your first smart TV, smart watch or one of the current wearable devices that form part of the current generation of the Internet of Things. Devices that tell you about your sleep pattern, your use of calories and numerous health checks or bioinformatics that we did not think we needed, but now can’t live without. What do we really want from these devices? From home appliances to Google glass and the new trend of wearable accessories, apart from the show-off factor for some, we are looking for more comfort. By comfort I include instant access to information that we already have in print or in a digital format and other insights that we don’t even notice right now. From safety to energy efficiency, the next set of appliances and devices, wearable or not, will be able to talk to each other;
shutting off furnaces, heating up just the right amount of water for your tea or shower, controlling lighting and setting themselves up to fit into the existing household by knowing what – and who – is there and adapting as needed. The next set of household appliances will grow and change with you and your home. Imagine the doors opening as you drive up to the house, the car locking as you walk away and the tea already hot as you walk into the kitchen. Do your shopping from the fridge door by simply swiping the last empty milk bottle and having it delivered to your back door by a drone the following morning. The IoT moves way beyond consumer electronics and household appliances to include jet engines, oil rig drills and entire factories. From a consumer standpoint IoT will be home automation, but a major part of it will go way beyond our immediate homes to become an integral part of our lives. According to a study by the International Data Corporation (IDC) the IoT market by 2020 is estimated to be worth $7.1 trillion and a recent
report by Erricson suggests that there could be as many as 100 billion internet-connected objects around the world in the next 5 years. This is hardly Artificial Intelligence but it is part of the greater changes which are feeding AI. Devices that talk to each other and that can have more information about us, our lives and habits, probably more than you could know or wish for. Devices that will change our lives and possibly even control it in the long run. No more chocolate as the fridge door locks, detecting you’ve already had enough and anyway, you are diabetic. In coming months, I will be covering Smart watches, self-driving cars, mind-reading robots and virtual reality.
g Ali Parandeh, is the Founder of
PC Doctor & Urbytus. He has written five books in the fields of Internet and Biotechnology. He is currently an independent mentor at the Founder Institute and helps entrepreneurs with getting their ideas and work off the ground.
30 / MARCH 2015 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM
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