What Do You Know About Artificial Intelligence & How It May Affect Your Life?

Ideas about artificial intelligence (AI) have tended to swirl around without offering me much to think about. I use Siri and Hello Google on my iPhone, I’m aware of the increasingly powerful social media algorithms, and I’ve watched, with some interest, the accomplishments of IBM’s Watson. Yet I haven’t really thought much about it.

The developments and decisions made about AI over the next couple of years may well affect our lives and the lives of our descendants. It’s best to get to know a bit about what is going on, especially when it comes to personal privacy, and also to ensure that our children learn about the positive and negative aspects of artificial intelligence.

Over the past several days I’ve read Maureen Dowd’s long and detailed report in Vanity Fair, Elon Musk’s Future Shock, describing the unbridled, and sometimes turbulent Silicon Valley debate about AI. This is the first detailed AI article that I’ve read, and it offers readers much to think about as Dowd circles, again and again, from Elon Musk to other AI researchers who oppose his views and back Musk again. I’ve realized that artificial intelligence is no longer something we see in science fiction movies. It may well affect our health and digital wellness.

When I finished the article I was unsettled — AI is technological change that can completely change the way we live and work. It’s not as simple as just purchasing and interacting with Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s personal assistant. Every parent and teacher needs to learn about the debate and gain a basic understanding of the potential decisions that are currently debated.

To become more informed and bring myself up to speed, I went hunting for a few more AI resources. Check out the Vanity Fair article and then continue learning about AI with some of the links below.

• The Future of Intelligence – A Science Friday program
• What is Artificial Intelligence? – Computer World
• Will Artificial Intelligence Change Education and Work? – Psychology Today
• Does Artificial Intelligence Pose a Threat? – Wall Street Journal
• Top 10 Hot Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies – Forbes
• 23 Principles for Beneficial Artificial Intelligence – Future of Life Institute