Will Artificial Intelligence Be the Last Invention That Humans Ever Need To make?

When we take a minute to consider how fast the development of technology and computers has advanced over the past 50 years, what will technology in society look like 50 years from now?

Although time is still a relatively unappreciated concept to many individuals today, just consider the fact that humans have been on the Earth for just over 200,000 years and just started living in organized societies within the last 4000 or so years. In this vast scope of time, 50 years is so astronomically small, a mere blip on the radar. Just think of how far technology, computers, and societies have evolved and developed over the past 50 years. We have experienced such rapid rates of increased efficiency, communication, and connectiveness around the entire globe. Although AI technology is in existence currently, it will undeniably continue to improve and get more efficient as time continues to progress. The new efficiency and other advantages that these new technologies offer should be utilized and not ignored, but do we realize what we may be creating?

The highest recorded human IQ was 228, what would a machine with an IQ of 500 look like?

The new possibilities and potential that this level of machine intelligence could provide could change life and society as we know it. Everything from governance, businesses, food production, ect will all come to rely very heavily on these new forms and types of technology. These technologies could open so many doors for so many different individuals around the world, but I maintain the opinion that the original transition will be met with significant resistance. We are beginning to see evidence in societies today that there is simply not enough jobs needed to employ everyone in the workforce, and no matter what anyone says or does, that problem is simply not going to be going away. When we as a society reach a point of "self-sustainability' I truly wonder what the reaction will be and how it will all unfold. 

When AI reaches a level where it is practical, efficient, and economical for firms to  implement AI instead of human labor, the human workforce will likely see a vast reduction in size very quickly, but mostly within the lower to lower middle level jobs. Professional jobs will remain, initially that is, but a lot of the work that people have known for their whole lives will eventually simply not be practical to be done by humans at a certain point. When we consider some of the lower levels of AI that we will likely continue to see more and more of in the near future, such as welding robots, manufacturing robotics, and construction assistance robots, many of the lower level jobs that currently exist will simply vanish. The response from the disappearance of so many jobs is still unknown, but one thing is for sure, it will be a severe response. 

The Autonomous machine

One of the coolest sectors of AI that I have looked into is the concentration of autonomous machines, which think and make decisions for themselves.  I don't think that the concept and idea of machine ownership of companies to be that incredibly far fetched in 100 years. The development of autonomous machines are still at the beginning, but they could have a greater impact on society as a whole than any other development that arises out of artificial intelligence. The idea that a computer could have the ability to be more logical, rational, and more accurate than a human is one that is already accepted by many individuals including myself. Autonomous machines and programs generally concern me a bit more than traditional AI would, simply because I question whether or not anyone actually knows what some of the discussed concepts would look like in practice. 

Let's say for instance that there was a way to give a piece of artificial intelligence an IQ of 20,000. Does anyone out there actually know what would potentially happen if a single network or program had that much sheer "intelligence'? I am sure that many people much more qualified than myself have already looked into this, but regardless any conclusion that is drawn is based on theoretical aspects rather than observable aspects. I am well aware that there is likely measures in place other considerations to ensure that the AI works as it is intended to, but it is still a very unknown space. 

The changes that come about from the development and furthering of AI will change the world forever, but will people ever be the same? In 500 years, the idea of "meshing" humans and technology seems completely possible, and we are already seeing the first major developments in attempting to connect the human brain with computers, as seen in Elon Musk's new company called, Neural Lace. What does the merger of humans and technology actually look like in practice? Could these types of advancements actually improve the quality of life for people around the globe or could it turn out to do just the opposite? 

I know this post was a bit all over the place so please forgive me, I hope that you enjoyed this post and urge you to leave any comments, input, or discussions below! Thanks for reading!

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