Chad Heiser English 1102 Instructor: Professor Voltz 12/3/13 Artificial intelligence is a form of technology and computer science,

that helps to create and study intelligent machines and software. Artificial Intelligence has been around for a longer time than one would think. The idea of artificial intelligence has been around for a very long time. Artificial intelligence has been around in fiction since Greek mythos. However, the first mention of artificial intelligence in reality would be in 1956. The field of research was founded at a conference at Dartmouth College in 1956. After this conference, the field of artificial intelligence became a huge success. Computers were solving word problems in algebra and speaking English. The research of artificial intelligence became widely funded but soon programmers got to the point where it was too difficult to continue to advance artificial intelligence with the current technology that they owned. Around 1974 the government stopped helping to fund artificial intelligence and a period known as "AI winter"() occurred. Soon after this occurrence the philosophy and ethics of artificial intelligence were starting to be questioned. Through theorizing the advancement of artificial intelligence one can learn that there could be positive effects through the continued development of AI, but at the same the negative effects of advancement could cause problems in the future. The positive effects and advancement of artificial intelligence, outweigh the negative effects of artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence implies that it is attempting to recreate the intelligence of the human mind. However, it could prove to be very difficult to recreate all the details and nuances

of the human mind. There is no doubt that machines have amazing capability, even in today's world. Theoretically, there should be no capacity to the intelligence that machines can recreate. However, there are problems with machines becoming too intelligent. What would happen if machines had a real mind and consciousness to them. There could be no limit to a machine's learning capacity. Should society allow machines to reach the point of normal human consciousness, or should it constrain machines to a certain set of parameters or rules that they could never break. Some even say that it could get to the point where people could even copy their own brains directly into hardware and software, and it would be identical to the original brain. This could be a very positive advancement in artificial intelligence as it will be almost identical to the real thing, and this would allow us for immortality, to the constraints of the machine. Humans could essentially download themselves into a computer once they start to deteriorate from old age or disease. This would allow us to exist for a much longer period of time, in a virtual world perhaps, where everything would seem like it was a reality. This is only in the case of human's transferring themselves into computers. Artificial intelligence could reach the point where machines could have the same conscious thought and ability that a normal human would. If artificial intelligence ever gets to the point of human consciousness there is a chance that they would become self aware to the point where they no longer see the humans as necessary. The other problem that artificial intelligence creates is a lazy mentality. If artificial intelligence ends up creating machines that can do work for us, why would people need to do work in the first place. Eventually it would get to the point where if artificial intelligence became a ordinary part of everyday life then one would no longer need to think for one selves. Artificial intelligence could also get to the point where they would have to be considered citizens under the legal system. They would think for themselves therefore would change the legal structure as we

know it. However, the positives of artificial intelligence far outweigh the negatives. Many things would start to become more automated, which would lead to increased production and increased efficiency. Artificial intelligence would also get to the point where it could replace humans for dangerous situations. AI can be rebuilt, while humans cannot, therefore it would be much smarter to use artificial intelligence in dangerous situations or jobs where humans could not normally survive. Artificial intelligence could also help people who could not help themselves. The elderly or disabled could greatly benefit from artificial intelligence, as machines could help these people do everyday tasks that they could not normally complete on their own. Artificial intelligence will be very beneficial for the human race in the future, despite negative effects. While there are philosophical theories to artificial intelligence, there is ethical theories for it as well. People who speculate on the future of artificial intelligence say there might be ethical problems with using artificial intelligence if they do really have the same brain capacity as a normal human being would. The problem that presents itself is, if a machine has intelligence could it also have human emotions. If it does have human emotions does it have the same rights as a human would. Eventually machines will be able to take over the control of menial jobs. Which means that entry level jobs will cease to exist and menial labor will be taken over as well, which would lead to potential higher unemployment rates as it would become increasingly difficult to find a job without higher education. Some futurists however believe that artificial intelligence will never get to the point of being able to emulate human emotion, it devalues human life as it implies that the human brain can be simplified down into nothing more than a computer program. However, most futurists believe that artificial intelligence will eventually reach a point where it transcends progress. Some refer to this point as the "Singularity"(). While other futurists believe that artificial intelligence will go in a different direction. They believe that

artificial intelligence and humans will combine to create cyborgs that have the capabilities of both a human and a machine, making them far more capable than either could be on their own. As there are many different directions that people believe artificial intelligence will go in the future the negative and positive effects of this can only be measured by each direction. In general, the positive effects of artificial intelligence are still more prevalent than the negative effects. Artificial intelligence can be expanded into something far beyond what we can comprehend right now. We could potentially be merged with machine or machine will help us into a brighter future where labor and menial jobs will be taken care of by artificial intelligence. Machines could reach a point where the help us to realize things that humans could normally not comprehend. If artificial intelligence reaches a point of singularity then they would start to envelope all knowledge within their known universe. This would create super intelligent beings that could help the human race into a great position as long as they still had sympathy for humans. However, artificial intelligence could also take a direction where it could destroy the entire human race as they feel that people are not needed for artificial intelligence to survive. Some scientists believe that artificial intelligence could not be guaranteed to be friendly. Artificial intelligence would have to understand our system of morality to be able to have friendly relations with a human being. Normal human beings evolved this sense and system of morality. It would prove very difficult to program morality into artificial intelligence. In conclusion, artificial intelligence is a vast and unexplored area that could have a very bright future, as well as a future that is very negative and bleak. Artificial intelligence could help shape the world into something that humans of today could never dream. This is a future where artificial intelligence becomes helpful and friendly, and this is most likely the direction that artificial intelligence will take. No scientist or programmer would intentionally program

malevolent artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is the way of the future and while there may be bumps along the road, the positive aspects of artificial intelligence continue to be a brighter look at our future.