Philosophy of Digital Man and Digital Society - 2024
Philosophy of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Society
Directions for Implementing Foreign Experience in the Philosophy of Creative Cities
Elon Musk has cautioned that we must exercise utmost caution with artificial intelligence, as it poses a potential danger greater than nuclear weapons. The malicious use of AI and computer algorithms has spawned criminal bots—intelligent agents aimed at executing large-scale criminal activities. These criminal bots serve as the foundation for criminal enterprises, significantly contributing to their profitability. A bot is essentially an application in messaging platforms that responds to user queries without the intervention of real individuals. Today, these "robots" can interact with other programs, track changes, and operate according to schedules.
Digitalization, on one hand, acts as a unifying and integrating factor, while on the other, it exacerbates existing fractures within society, giving rise to new forms of inequality and segregation. This necessitates comprehensive humanitarian expertise in the processes and effects of digitalization. Among other threats, these programs automate hacking, virus dissemination, intellectual property theft, industrial espionage, spam distribution, personal data breaches, and DDoS attacks. Massive computer bot networks—such as "Mariposa" and "Conficker"—can infiltrate your computer, transforming it into a compliant robot that participates in DDoS attacks. Indeed, artificial intelligence is reshaping the world, with leading Chinese companies paving the way for these transformations. FlyTek, engaged in AI development, focuses on speech recognition, translation, and synthesis.
The first two waves—the internet AI and business AI—have already enveloped us, subtly altering the digital and financial landscapes. The first wave of AI demands our attention, particularly concerning internet companies that replace mid-level lawyers with algorithms, trade stocks, and diagnose illnesses. AI perception today digitizes the world, learning to recognize faces, comprehend requests, and "see" everything around us. This wave promises to alter our perception of reality and our interaction with it, blurring the lines between the digital and physical realms.
Autonomous AI will profoundly impact our lives. Once self-driving cars fill the streets, autonomous drones ascend into the skies, and intelligent robots begin working in factories, they will transform every facet of our lives—ranging from growing organic produce to managing cars and fast food services. Each of these waves requires different types of data, providing both the U.S. and China opportunities for leadership in these processes. China may secure leadership positions in internet AI and perceptual AI, and is likely to quickly catch up to the U.S. in autonomous AI. Currently, business AI remains the only domain where the U.S. undoubtedly retains its leadership. However, competition will arise not only between these two nations; AI-based services first emerged in the markets of the U.S. and China but will spread globally, with this process already unfolding in developing countries.
Companies like Uber, DiDi, Alibaba, and Amazon fiercely compete for emerging markets while employing various strategies that significantly influence the global economic landscape of the 21st century. While Silicon Valley giants enter new countries with their products, Chinese internet companies, conversely, invest in local startups that strive to resist pressure from the U.S.
First Wave: AI on the Internet
AI on the internet has likely infiltrated our minds—and perhaps even our wallets. This first wave of AI began to rise nearly 15 years ago and solidified around 2012. Internet AI primarily comprises recommendation algorithms that study our personal preferences and subsequently propose content suited to us. The efficacy of these mechanisms relies on the data they can access, and currently, major internet companies possess the largest volumes of digital data globally. However, this data becomes genuinely valuable for algorithms only after it is "labeled." These labels—our purchases, likes, views, or time spent on specific pages—are further utilized to train algorithms, enabling them to present us with relevant content.
Another testament to the power of AI is its ability to utilize data to learn as much as possible about us, subsequently optimizing its actions in alignment with our desires. Such optimization leads to increased profits for internet companies that monetize our clicks: Google, Baidu, Alibaba, YouTube, and their counterparts worldwide. It is no coincidence that good data is equated with possessing vast amounts of data. Overall, Chinese and American companies are approximately equally strong in the realm of internet AI, each possessing a roughly 50-50 chance at leadership. The economic potential generated by the first wave of AI is, in general, confined to the high-tech and digital sectors. This initial wave relies on the actions of internet users, who automatically label data while browsing.
Second Wave: AI for Business
The central idea of business AI is that traditional companies have also automatically labeled vast quantities of data over decades. For instance, insurance companies pay out claims for accidents and detect fraud. Algorithms capable of synthesizing thousands of observable and subtle indicators through complex mathematical operations will outperform even the best human specialists in fulfilling many analytical business tasks. This includes data sets regarding stock prices, credit card usage, and statistics on unpaid mortgages. The financial sector deals with well-structured information and has clear indicators that require optimization. Chinese leaders believe that external expertise is not worth the expense. One of the most promising areas for AI implementation lies in medical diagnostics, judiciary processes, banking, insurance, and other fields requiring substantial data structuring.
Third Wave: Perceptual AI
Rather than merely storing sound archives as sequences of bits, algorithms have now learned to comprehend words and often even sentences. The third wave represents a continuous improvement of these capabilities, penetrating ever deeper into all areas of our lives. The world around us will undergo digitization through the proliferation of sensors and intelligent devices. These devices convert the realities of the physical world into digital data, which can then be analyzed and optimized through deep learning algorithms.
Fourth Wave: Autonomous AI
Once machines can see and hear the surrounding world, they will be prepared to move and interact productively within it. Autonomous AI embodies the integration and culmination of all advancements from previous stages. It must combine the ability of machines to optimize based on big data with their new sensory capabilities. As a result of this fusion, machines will not only understand the surrounding world but also possess the capacity to alter it.
Autonomous AI devices will fundamentally transform our daily lives: our shopping centers, restaurants, factories, cities, and even fire safety systems will change. As with the previous waves of AI, this will occur gradually, leading to the construction of "AI-based cities." Among its features will be sensors embedded in road surfaces, traffic lights equipped with computer vision, pedestrian crossings that monitor pedestrian wait times, and relatively small areas designated for parking. Above all, first-rate specialists in fourth-wave AI are needed, as the issues of safety and high complexity render autonomous vehicles a "hard nut" from an engineering perspective. Working on them demands a team of world-class engineers.
Directions for the Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Context of Smart Societies and Smart Technologies
Robots and machines have long coexisted with us, often executing specific algorithms programmed into them. Thanks to developments such as Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, and Amazon's Alexa, ordinary individuals have gained access to artificial intelligence. The most fervent debates currently revolve around the software that empowers robots with intelligence.
The science and technology of creating intelligent machines and software are known as artificial intelligence. Since the advent of computers, scholars have continually envisioned the creation of machines capable of human-like thinking, able to replace individuals in any profession.
Interest in artificial intelligence is driven by its ability to analyze vast datasets—BIG DATA. It is employed for a myriad of purposes: Facebook autonomously assists in tagging friends in photographs based on its extensive database of images and users; Google leverages data from a multitude of translated documents online to provide synchronous translations in various languages; speech recognition represents another breakthrough for artificial intelligence. Frequently, AI is designed to execute specific tasks, such as recognizing speech or facial features, collecting data online, or controlling devices. Apple's Siri can comprehend voice commands, provide medical diagnoses, or even manage your vehicle.
Artificial intelligence endowed with human-like abilities is referred to as strong artificial intelligence. Experts from McKinsey Global Institute predict that automation of intellectual professions utilizing artificial intelligence could yield between $5.2 trillion and $6.77 trillion by 2025, while progressive automation with AI may bring in an additional $1.7 trillion to $4.5 trillion. A report from Accenture forecasts the growth of global economies by 2035 through the use of artificial intelligence. AI is intricately woven into products, seamlessly integrated into goods, and can be utilized in vehicles for road safety or within recommendation services like Netflix.
AI also aids in optimizing workflows; for example, the automation of contact centers can reduce costs associated with customer service calls. Another popular application of artificial intelligence is its analytical capabilities, which serve as a foundation for decision-making.
All these avenues for the development of artificial intelligence bolster business growth, enhance customer loyalty, and generate profits.
The first avenue for the evolution of artificial intelligence involves real-time operation and processing vast volumes of information, identifying similarities and differences; in medicine, it plays a role in early-stage diagnostics; in finance, it combats fraud related to payment cards and financial transactions. These capabilities should also be harnessed for security monitoring and climate change control.
The second avenue for the advancement of AI enables the rapid creation of millions of scenarios and templates, facilitating the testing of ideas using Big Data. Thus, artificial intelligence assists in uncovering solutions to complex problems by testing their implementation.
The third avenue aids merchants in crafting personalized offers for their clients, leveraging the capabilities of platforms like Netflix, and conducting tests on product names that would resonate with consumers.
The fourth avenue allows for the processing of diverse formats—images, videos, audio files, etc.—resulting in a wealth of data for analysis (for instance, this means your phone can now recognize your voice and schedule meetings; lawyers can access information on similar cases from legal practice; artificial intelligence can interact with its environment—gathering data from other systems and sensors, aiding navigation, and managing machinery).
Elon Musk regards artificial intelligence as a serious threat, advocating for the monitoring of risks and dangers associated with AI and its safety protocols. If Moore's Law continues to hold, maintaining the same pace of development as observed over the past 30 years, computer processors may reach the data processing speed of the human brain by 2025. Currently, AI conducts 30% of corporate audits, and by 2025, 75% of respondents anticipate this pivotal moment. Artificial intelligence excels at selecting typical solutions and automating processes, making this technology beneficial for carrying out numerous tasks within large organizations.
Even now, one can predict the formation of a future environment where artificial intelligence will assume human roles in resolving many tasks, as noted by Klaus Schwab. Approximately 47% of jobs that existed in the U.S. in 2010 have undergone computerization within the next 10-20 years; however, this has also yielded positive outcomes:
- Cost reductions;
- Increased productivity;
- Removal of barriers to innovation;
- Creation of new opportunities for small businesses and startups;
- Lowered entry barriers to the market, exemplified by "software as a service" for nearly anything.
In the modern era, robotics begins to influence numerous professions—from industrial production to agriculture, and from retail to service sectors. According to data from the International Federation of Robotics, there are currently 1.1 million robots operating worldwide, with machines accounting for 80% of the production process in the automotive industry. Robots streamline supply chain systems, yielding more efficient and accurately predicted outcomes for business activities.
By 2025, 86% of respondents expect this critical moment to arrive. The positive repercussions of this process include:
- Simplification of supply chain and logistics systems;
- Increased leisure time;
- Enhanced treatment outcomes;
- Greater access to materials;
- Reshoring—replacing foreign workers with robots.
When discussing robotics and artificial intelligence, most of us are willing to accept that computer programs can defeat human masters in chess; computers perform calculations far more efficiently than humans.
At the same time, many believe that information technology has its ethical limits, as we approach the time when the growing technological capacity to manipulate two fundamental forms of information—biological and computational, byte and gene—will lead to the emergence of higher beings.
In the future, a scenario may arise wherein the first true artificial intelligence is born not within a singular supercomputer but as a superorganism composed of billions of computer chips, collectively termed a network. This entity will span planetary scales while remaining subtle, embedded, and easily integrable. The advent of artificial intelligence accelerates other shifts; the network itself promotes its own intellectualization and, in a supernatural manner, becomes increasingly adept. A genuine revolution will occur when each individual possesses personal robots, while machines and robots undertake the bulk of work. Simultaneously, a dramatic breakthrough in medical and biological sciences will enable humanity to live longer and healthier lives. In any part of the world, individuals will be able to earn money through programming code, storing, spending, or transferring it. All these innovations may create opportunities for humanity, yet they also heighten the risk that malicious actors could inflict systemic harm on the international economy.
All of humanity, sensing the threats and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, must engage in a thorough discussion regarding the trajectory information technologies might take due to their capabilities and risks. The ramifications of these disruptive changes manifest across many domains—global implications for employment, privacy, and even the question of who may be defined as a “human” in the future—thus necessitating a firmer anchoring of science and technology to ethical boundaries.
Society must also establish institutions capable of conducting continuous assessments of the broader consequences of such all-encompassing technological developments, particularly new advancements in artificial intelligence that may achieve or even surpass human intellectual capabilities across a wide array of fields and issues.