The Human Factor In A Future Of AI

Sometime back I had to write this essay from a given prompt titled "The Human Factor In A Future Of AI", and sharing it here for your reading. Comments are welcome!

The world that we see ahead is one where the line between humankind and technology is thinning down further as every day goes by. The rate of development of technology is happening at such an unprecedented, break-neck speed that it has become nearly impossible for the other complementary fields to keep up. The new talk is all about the world of artificial intelligence(AI)- a realm that even the men who have discovered it are not entirely sure about. 

Artificial Intelligence, to be simply put, is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. The disruption by AI is already happening around us, and it is believed that this is just a microscopic part of an unexplored universe of self-programming intelligence. It is also expected that AI would successfully replace most of the jobs today, thanks to its high efficiency and almost impeccable accuracy. 

So, in this future of artificial intelligence replacing all that humans can do, in a much more efficient and successful manner, is there any human factor left for us to hold on to? Well, it all depends on objectives and perspectives. 

There are still things, definitely, that a machine cannot achieve by replacing a human being. A machine, whether programmed to gain intelligence or not, operates on pure statistics and algorithms. It takes its decisions and makes networks purely on the basis of logical arrangement of probabilities and mathematical models. What a machine lacks is instinct. And, this is human factor in the future of Artificial Intelligence. 

Since time immemorial, we have always known that evolution has been possible and life exists only because of instincts, and so there is no question on the power of it. AI can make machines intelligent enough to understand our instincts and the human emotional quotient, but they could never have one of their own. To simplify: it might gauge our anger and love, but cannot produce the same. That is where humans score over AI. As Australian scientist Alan Finkel puts it (Finkel’s Law): robots won’t replace us because we still need that human touch. Robots do not understand irrational thought and context. These things can be essentially dealt with only through instincts and empathy that AI will not provide the robots with. 

To sum it up: AI could make robots almost life-like but they would never actually have a life because humankind can be two things that AI-bots could never be: human and kind. And, that is essentially the human factor in the future of Artificial Intelligence.