“Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the quality of life by intervening at many levels,” S.M. Shivaprasad, Director, Karnataka State Higher Education Academy, said here on Saturday.
He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Law: Issues and Challenges’, at Karnataka Law Society’s Raja Lakhamagouda Law College.
“Artificial intelligence is already there. But it is still in its infancy. Even in its silliest phase, it is already disruptive. It is making some significant changes that were unimaginable in the past. AI can reverse pollution, bringing back extinct species,” he said.
However, he cautioned that any drastic change in technology brought with it several ethical questions.
“It is the responsibility of scientists, technologists and lawyers to ensure that human ethics, which have been developed and perfected over the years, are not compromised in the development or use of AI tools,” he said.
According to him, 95% of scientists working on AI had pledged not to work for the military.
“But this may not last. We have to create a system of education that helps us avoid violence, either by terrorists or the military,” he said. “This is an era where the three main branches of science — nanotechnology, bio-technology, and AI — are emerging simultaneously. We have tools like big data analysis and cognitive intelligence that can turn any stream of knowledge into a science. AI has the potential to disrupt several areas, including law,” he said.
He said that earlier, computers had neither emotions nor intuition but now scientists are developing intuition within computers.
Five years ago, Deep Blue, a AI-based computer, defeated the world champion of Go, a complex Chinese game. Google bought Deep Blue for billions of dollars, as it understood its possibilities, Dr. Shivaprasad said.
