South Holland and the Deepings MP Sir John Hayes on AI

In his weekly column, Hayes in the House, MP Sir John looks at the impact of AI.

A generation ago, the futurist fiction of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov opined of coming dark days when the unthinking adoption of, and reliance upon, advanced ‘intelligent’ technology would reduce mortals to little more than drones.

In the dystopian future depicted in their books and the films they spawned – notably 2001: A Space Odyssey – robotic machines, which dominate life’s every aspect, subjugate humanity.

It is an eternal hope that human endeavour may prevent such terrifying predications ever coming to pass.

Yet telling aspects of fiction that once seemed fanciful have indeed come to fruition, with us now taking for granted space travel, cloning, and the dominance of the internet.

Just as the reach of the internet has spread further and faster into everyday lives than was dreamt of at its outset, technology is about to make a still greater transformation into the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

To some, mostly those naively enthralled by all that is new, this perhaps seems exciting, but providence suggests they should be careful what they wish for.

Certainly, man’s inventiveness can be a force for good – after all, without it medical advances would not have happened.

Yet knowing that wicked people have long turned science to evil ends, much more thought must be given to the risks and consequences of AI.

Intelligent machines can already pass examinations, write essays, and create manufactured images that appear entirely real, and it’s hard to predict where this technology might take us in a decade, what good may it bring, and what harm might it do?

If developments take us to a point where faked photographs or videos are impossible to distinguish from reality, truth itself may become beyond our determination.

Knowing the character of internet exchanges, whereby people routinely seek to confirm their own prejudices whilst ignoring all contrary content, the implications of AI for public discourse are immense, and almost entirely negative.

Which explains why many involved in the development of this technology have expressed their concerns, with leading researchers calling for a pause in the development of AI.

With the likelihood of Russia and China developing their own versions, the broader implications are truly disturbing.

In the light of this, the Prime Minister wisely announced that the UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety, bringing together Governments, leading tech companies and researchers in an attempt to agree how to mitigate the profound risks from AI.

This is a welcome step, but much more needs to be done; those who wilfully create such technology, careless of where it might lead, must be reined in.

Whereas people once spoke of the internet and communications technology in glowing, utopian terms – ‘connecting the world in ways we thought unimaginable(!)’ – now we are well aware of the damage done by globalist tech giants and their products; how can small, local family businesses possibly compete with multinational shopping websites based in distant warehouses?

Worse still, public consciousnesses are being altered as time-honoured common-sense is eroded by alarmist online scares, frantic half-truths, and cleverly-disguised wilful lies.

Having seen the toxic effects of social media on the its adherents interact, and the prevalence of all kinds of internet harm – from child pornography and terrorist recruitment, to identity theft and a variety of other scams – it is now easier to recognise the pitfalls of thinking that technological innovation equates to social progress.

Artificial intelligence may seep slowly into daily life, or it may change our lives beyond recognition more quickly. Either way, we are unlikely to be able to ignore it, so we must take all necessary measures to ensure the horror of science fiction does not become irresistible science fact.