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I don't understand the point of AI

Cloud44

I genuinely don't get it. Not being awkward (although there might be a bit of a fear of change influencing my thinking) but when I ask people 'what is the point of AI?' they seem to think it's a rhetorical question. But it's not, it's a real question that I don't know the answer to. As far as I can see, it's a computer thinking for us which will eventually result in a loss of skills and an inability to learn new things. For example, when I write, I want to learn how to improve the grammar, sentence structure etc, not have software do it all for me. Same with everything in life. I don't mind getting things wrong if feedback allows me the opportunity to improve.

Can anyone see the advantages? Rather than be dismissive of AI and shut it down, I'd like to learn from others and find out what they get out of it and maybe find something I am missing, or how it could benefit me.

Thanks

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  • AI can be many different things. It can help us, or It can cause problems and even discriminate against us if it's not programmed correctly.

    I like the AI in video games which enable me to play against it without other humans, and the AI on kindle that suggests other books I might like as it's helped me find many books I didn't know about and have enjoyed. 

    I don't like AI facial or fingerprint recognition on things like phones - if you got mugged, the perpetrators could just hold up your phone to your face or put your finger on the screen to access everything on it. I also don't want my household appliances making their own decisions - I am capable of deciding what programme to wash things on and checking whether I've run out of something.

    I think there are a lot of potential uses in health & social care such as reading scans and having robot carers and companions.

    AI can be used to do things like judge whether someone who has been arrested should be given bail, or for assessing benefits claims or allocating social housing. But there is a danger of discrimination with these tasks, so the machine learning has to be handled very carefully. And if course, self driving cars need very specific programming for safety reasons.

  • in reply to Lotus

    I like the ease of use of facial recognition but like you, I am concerned about using it being used if I am mugged or unconscious. I make sure my banking apps & some others need extra information to log in, but I will continue to use facial recognition for the phone as I would forget a PIN or password.

  • in reply to ArchaeC
    ArchaeC said:
    I like the ease of use of facial recognition but like you, I am concerned about using it being used if I am mugged or unconscious.

    I don't know about others, but Apple's system has a feature that addresses risks like these:

    "Face ID recognises if your eyes are open and your attention is directed towards the device. This makes it more difficult for someone to unlock your device without your knowledge (such as when you are sleeping)."

    I think that if I were mugged, I'd be just as likely - upon being coerced - to give up my passcode, as I would be to comply with a demand to look at the device with my eyes open.

    And if someone tried to physically hold my eyes open, I expect the FaceID identification would fail anyway, as their hands would be obscuring too much of my face. 

  • in reply to Bunny

    I hope I don’t become unconscious with my eyes open! I like the ease of use of the iPhone & other Apple products, also they are more secure than others. 

    Bunny said:
    And if someone tried to physically hold my eyes open, I expect the FaceID identification would fail anyway, as their hands would be obscuring too much of my face. 

    Yes, and I think there are all sorts of other negative things that can happen in life and that I can get carried away if I’m not careful. I often tell myself to look at the worst possible scenario (regarding AI - the benefits or downsides) if muggers  accessed my phone.  In all likelihood, I would be so relieved to survive such an attack that the stolen and possibly accessed phone wouldn’t be my prime concern. Sometimes it puts things in perspective. Strangely, I have tried using ‘the worst possible scenario technique’ for things like doctor’s appointments, meeting people and shopping, but for those sorts of things it doesn’t work.

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  • in reply to Bunny

    I hope I don’t become unconscious with my eyes open! I like the ease of use of the iPhone & other Apple products, also they are more secure than others. 

    Bunny said:
    And if someone tried to physically hold my eyes open, I expect the FaceID identification would fail anyway, as their hands would be obscuring too much of my face. 

    Yes, and I think there are all sorts of other negative things that can happen in life and that I can get carried away if I’m not careful. I often tell myself to look at the worst possible scenario (regarding AI - the benefits or downsides) if muggers  accessed my phone.  In all likelihood, I would be so relieved to survive such an attack that the stolen and possibly accessed phone wouldn’t be my prime concern. Sometimes it puts things in perspective. Strangely, I have tried using ‘the worst possible scenario technique’ for things like doctor’s appointments, meeting people and shopping, but for those sorts of things it doesn’t work.

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