The Future of Artificial Intelligence: Navigating Existential Fears, Malicious Use, and Humanity's Greatest Threat

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Photo: LightX, AI RitaRitaRita, 2023.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence: Navigating Existential Fears, Malicious Use, and

Humanity's Greatest Threat

 

                                                                                                          Photo: LightX, AI RitaRitaRita, 2023.

RitaRitaRita Special Report, November 5, 2023

As we hurtle toward the year 2025, the world finds itself at a crossroads of technological innovation and existential concerns. Artificial Intelligence (AI), once a distant promise, now stands as one of humanity's most promising but equally perilous creations. The impending years bring with them a host of questions, opportunities, and anxieties that will shape the way we interact with AI and the global landscape. As we peer into the near future, here is what we can expect regarding existential fears, the malicious use of AI, and the burgeoning concerns of AI's impact on humanity.

Existential Fears and Ethical Quandaries

Existential fears surrounding AI have grown increasingly palpable. Stephen Hawking, the late physicist, once warned that AI could "spell the end of the human race." While this prediction might appear dramatic, it does reflect the gravity of the questions surrounding AI. By 2025, these concerns will reach a crescendo.

Superintelligent AI

One of the chief existential fears revolves around the advent of superintelligent AI. The race to develop machines that surpass human intelligence has seen significant progress, and some experts predict that we could achieve this milestone by 2025. The arrival of superintelligent AI raises concerns about its values, control, and potential to act autonomously in ways that could threaten humanity.

Autonomous Weapons

Militaries across the globe are investing heavily in AI-powered weapons and autonomous drones. By 2025, these technologies will be further integrated into the battlefield, sparking concerns about their potential for misuse and the ethical dilemmas associated with machines making life-and-death decisions.

Job Displacement and Economic Disparity

The impact of AI on the job market will become increasingly pronounced. By 2025, industries ranging from transportation to healthcare will experience significant disruptions due to automation. The challenge will be to address the growing economic disparity and job displacement, while ensuring AI technology benefits all of humanity.

Malicious Use of AI

The malicious use of AI is a growing concern, as nefarious actors leverage this technology for criminal purposes. By 2025, the threat landscape will evolve significantly.

Deepfakes and Disinformation

Deepfake technology will become even more sophisticated, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish real from manipulated content. Political elections, corporate reputation, and public trust will be under constant assault from AI-generated disinformation campaigns. The United States 2024 elections could bolster the spread of disinformation as seen in the recent past.

Cybersecurity Threats

AI will be a double-edged sword in the world of cybersecurity. While it can bolster defenses, it can also be harnessed by cybercriminals to breach systems and networks more efficiently. The threat of AI-driven cyberattacks will loom larger by 2025.

Autonomous Malware

Malware and computer viruses will evolve to autonomously adapt and propagate, posing a formidable challenge to traditional cybersecurity measures. AI-driven malware will constantly learn and evolve, making detection and mitigation a relentless battle.

AI as Humanity's Greatest Threat

As AI technologies continue to evolve, concerns about their potential to become humanity's greatest threat are becoming increasingly pervasive. By 2025, addressing these concerns will be an imperative task.

Ethical Frameworks

Developing robust ethical frameworks for AI will be of paramount importance. These frameworks must encompass values, fairness, transparency, and accountability, and be widely adopted to guide AI development and use. The need for accurate ethical and moral empirical data deems necessary to provide a solid scaffolding in building these frameworks.

Global Governance

International cooperation in AI regulation will be essential to prevent a fragmented and potentially dangerous AI landscape. Governments, academia, and the private sector must collaborate to establish global norms and standards. Just as the UK's AI Safety Summit 2023 at Bletchley Park, this conference provided a proactive global platform to produce thoughts on mitigating risks regarding the growth of AI in everyday life. The international declaration brought necessary awareness that the United States is a strong force on setting the proper agenda regarding the advancement of technology. The United Kingdom and the United States echo the sentiment on AI safety.

Responsible Innovation

The AI community must embrace responsible innovation and prioritize safety. Ensuring that AI systems are designed to align with human values and safety is critical to avoiding unintended consequences. Setting a global consensus on the importance of responsible innovation allows for better modeling in the future.

In summary, as we approach 2025, the existential fears, malicious use, and concerns surrounding AI as one of the biggest threats to humanity will come into sharper focus. The convergence of these issues necessitates a global conversation on how AI can be harnessed for the benefit of all, while safeguarding against its misuse and unintended consequences. Humanity stands at the precipice of a future where the choices made today will determine whether AI becomes our greatest ally or a formidable adversary.

But There's Hope

While contemplating these conceptions of the world, bear in mind that God commands us to "ensure that no one captivates you through empty deceit and philosophy, in accordance with elemental spirits of the world, human tradition, and not in accordance with Christ" (Colossians 2:8).

 Check back soon for the next Special Report on counterbalancing and guarding against some these concerns: Charting a Path Forward: Solutions to AI's Existential Fears and Malicious Use

Currently pursuing her Doctor of Philosophy degree, with a Christian Lens on ethics and morals, in Psychology and Law, her current research interests include artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), law, ethics, morals, neuroscience, neurotheology, bioethics, aviation, military affairs, divinity and diversity. Read about, soon-to-be, Dr. Rita Kurtz below! 

 

Rita Kurtz (Ph.D. in progress) is a Harvard University Scholar and Thought Leader in multidisciplinary and cross-sector concentrations including Artificial Intelligence (AI), technology, writing, law, psychology, neuroscience, neurotheology, ethics, morals, divinity, diversity, anthropology, and the sciences. 

Rita is an interdisciplinary researcher and recent graduate of Harvard University with a master's degree from the Faculty of Arts & Sciences department. Studying under esteemed Harvard Law School Professor Roberto Mangabeira Unger (SJD), Harvard University Law Director of Intellectual Property Allan Ryan, including Dr. Cornel West (Presidential Candidate 2024), and Dr. Arthur Kleinman (Harvard Department of Anthropology and Psychiatry), gave her well-roundedness in the interdisciplinary studies of law, anthropology, philosophy, ethics, morals, media, religiosity, and politics making her a well-prepared Ph.D. candidate. Through the acquisition of a prestigious Cross-Registration Academic Scholarship from Harvard, she gained a broader academic perspective and cultivated a profound curiosity about making scholarly contributions to the discourse surrounding difficult existential inquiries. In light of her Harvard Professor Unger's discussions on ethical, moral, and legal ramifications of utilizing artificial intelligence and the effects of the Knowledge Economy, she further investigated these topics, gaining the implications of the historical Tocquevillian perspective on the underestimation of technology's role. Historical data such as history, religiosity, and technology, piqued her interest in investigating these future issues in an effort to offer deeper research and discussions to grapple with these AI existential issues.

While at Harvard University, Rita combined her professional skills in television and film and took part in several projects, such as being selected out of several candidates, to participate in a research study at the Langer Mindfulness Lab in the Department of Psychology which delved into the intense psychological effects of news medium's impact on the consumption and conveyance of news to the public. As a researcher at Harvard, she wrote two research papers and successfully presented them to a panelist of fellow Ph.D. scientists. The first paper researched Nutraceutical Skin Therapy: Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Ganoderma lucidum, a study on how mushrooms may support youthful skin and aid in patients suffering from the autoimmune disease, sarcoidosis. The second delved into extensive research on Meat Analogues: Are We Making a Positive Political Advancement to Save the Planet? Or A Personal Health Choice that Barely Sustains Ourselves?, uncovering the unnatural ingredients masked in meatless burgers from Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger. She became a published nonfiction writer and a certified digital storyteller while at Harvard. 

In her undergraduate degree, her interdisciplinary studies in law, anthropology and philosophy, makes her a well-rounded research candidate. Her past academia undergraduate BBA studies covered a gamut of disciplines including writing legal briefs and law courses in Constitutional Law, Business Law I &II, Torts, Corporate Finance, Accounting 1 &2, Human Resources, Business Policy, Political Science, Operations Management, Programming, Economics, Chemistry, Chemistry Lab, and Consumer Behavior. Her studies in computer programming, economics, anthropology, and philosophy, broadened her technical mindset for business.

Rita runs an online e-commerce store and is a digital content creator, gaining some experience with Python Programming language. She stays current on mainstream topics as a blogger, social media influencer, and actress/entertainer. As a world traveler, she divides her time between speaking, performing, and engaging in television, radio, and stage productions. She has covered tech news and innovations as a repeat spokesperson at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), MacWorld, and for Belkin Components, hence the nickname, “Gadget Girl.” Her past acting appearances aired on Lifetime, History Channel, Fox, and the Paramount Network, landing her on an Emmy-nominated show. Her experience in media, led to a career in television, radio, movies, stage, and writing, gained her the branding of RitaRitaRita.

As a prior executive producer, TV and radio host of a positive side of sports, life and entertainment variety show, her co-hosts included Pro-NFL players and Industry Professionals. The show broadcasted on Warner Brothers Television and Fox. Her position led to interviews with billionaires, millionaires, celebrities, professional athletes, NASCAR drivers, professional medical staff, professional attorneys, musicians, and business owners. As a headline lead singer, she has toured with Grammy-Award winning musicians, and performed the national anthem for several professional sports teams around theU.S.. Rita is a strong writer, researcher, listener, articulate speaker, and takes direction well. She is most recognized for the national TV commercial in which she belted opera on a bus with a guy dressed like a Scandinavian viking-(877-CASHNOW).

Rita formerly worked with a private company as a Government Account Executive supplying computer networks to the U.S. military around the globe creating relationships between the civilian sector and the government. She has also worked as a Record-Breaking Executive Technical Recruiter, receiving "Recruiter of the Month" and "Recruiter of the Year," for placing the highest commission received for the company, by placing a CEO into a Fortune 500 Tech Company. Her responsibilities as an Executive Technical Recruiter placed C-level executives into major tech companies and start-ups. Her well roundedness and entrepreneurial mindset led her to running a successful bakery at the Department of Defense (DoD) Air Force Exchange.

Currently pursuing her Doctorate of Philosophy degree, with a Christian Lens on ethics and morals, in Psychology and Law, her current research interests include artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), law, ethics, morals, neuroscience, bioethics, aviation, military affairs, divinity and diversity. Her postgraduate studies at Liberty University allows her to research, analyze, test, generate new data, and the application of statistical and analytical data. Setting academic theories in psychology with a Christian worldview, opening deeper theories into more professional values, morals, ethics, behaviors, attitudes, justices, theoretical modeling, evidence-based modeling, culturally diversity standardization, leadership in trends, concepts, and methods. She is currently studying neuroscience, cognitive psychology, social-personality psychology, neurotheology, law, and statistics. Her main focus lies in self-regulation in the discipline of Health Psychology from a holistic-mind, body, spirit, and soul approach.

She is a current member of the American Psychological Association (APA), American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS), Harvard Black Alumni Society (HBAS), Harvard Club of NY, Harvard Club of Southern California, and the Harvard Alumni Association. She currently resides in Beverly Hills, California. Her faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation for her life. On top of her Ph.D. studies and graduating from Harvard University, she continues her law journey enrolling in the law and ethics course, Justice, at Harvard X.

 

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