GB
  
You are currently viewing the United Kingdom version of the site.
Would you like to switch to your local site?
140 MIN READ TIME

Why We Should Be Concerned About Artificial Superintelligence

The human brain isn’t magic; nor are the problem-solving abilities our brains possess. They are, however, still poorly understood. If there’s nothing magical about our brains or essential about the carbon atoms that make them up, then we can imagine eventually building machines that possess all the same cognitive abilities we do. Despite the recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence, it is still unclear how we might achieve this feat, how many pieces of the puzzle are still missing, and what the consequences might be when we do. There are, I will argue, good reasons to be concerned about AI.

The Capabilities Challenge

Unlock this article and much more with
You can enjoy:
Enjoy this edition in full
Instant access to 600+ titles
Thousands of back issues
No contract or commitment
Try for 99p
SUBSCRIBE NOW
30 day trial, then just £9.99 / month. Cancel anytime. New subscribers only.


Learn more
Pocketmags Plus
Pocketmags Plus

This article is from...


View Issues
Skeptic
22.2
VIEW IN STORE

Other Articles in this Issue


COLUMNS
The SkepDoc
pH Mythology: Separating pHacts from pHiction
The Gadfly
Are You An Unconscious Racist?
ARTICLES
The Rise of the Alt-Right and the Politics of Polarization in America
The Rise of the Alt-Right and the Politics of Polarization
Delusions of the Imagination
How the “Tractor”—an Early 19th Century Medical Quack Device—Was Debunked by One of the Earliest Single Blind Placebo Studies
Area 51: What is Really Going on There?
UFOs and U-2s, Aliens and A-12s
Is Race a Useful Concept?
WE SEEK TO ADDRESS A SINGULAR, SIMPLE QUESTION: are
The Three Shades of Atheism
How Atheists Differ in Their Views on God
SPECIAL SECTION AI DANGER
Why Artificial Intelligence is Not an Existential Threat
OVER THE YEARS EXISTENTIAL THREAT WARNINGS have been
Artificial Intelligence Simulation, Not Synthesis
After over 50 years of mostly empty promises and disappointments
REVIEWS
Think Again
Rethink: The Surprising History of New Ideas by Steven Poole
The Ultimate Trade Off
A review of How Men Age: What Evolution Reveals About Male Health and Mortality by Richard G. Bribiescas
Playing Whac-a-Mole with Science Deniers
A Review of Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science by Dave Levitan.
Frauds and Cons
Reviews of: Big Con: Great Hoaxes, Frauds, Grifts, and Swindles in American History by Nate Hendley Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff by Edward J. Balliesen Houdini’s ‘Girl Detective’ compiled by Tony Wolf The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For it…Every Time by Maria Konnikova
Any Sufficiently Advanced Human is Indistinguishable from God
Review of Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari.
JUNIOR SKEPTIC
TERRIFYING! IMPROBABLE! CHEMTRAILS!
We’ve all heard the story of Chicken Little—a fanciful