IN ETHICAL SCIENCE, WE TRUST

                                                                WHAT IS A.I. and M.L.? CAN THEY THINK?

    “Science without conscious is the death of the soul”  - Francois Rabelais                    

I am not an expert in computer sciences or its subdivision of artificial intelligence ( A.I.)  and machine learning (M.L.) I only have had limited experience about them, when I was practicing medicine by using electronic medical records (EMR) and computer assisted diagnosis (CAD). I consider myself as educated lay person, when it comes to computer science.

Even though  modern technology and computer science have changed our lives and the world we live  in for the better  we, as citizens, should know some basic concepts about them so that we can raise our concerns about their unethical and immoral use.

We are all very much aware of what is happening to our society, our culture, our media, our kids addiction to electronic gadgets, increasing traffic accidents, our democratic institutions, our election systems, sales of our private information, without our consent for marketing purposes.

So, let’s start by asking some basic questions and  raise our concerns: What is really A.I. and M.L.?

In my humble opinion, A.I. is simply a branch of computer science that deals with  with machine simulation of human intelligent behaviors. M.L. is  a subset of A.I. that deals with machines which can be programmed with A.I.’s learning algorithms, to do things and to learn by themselves to improve their performances.

But, I get confused and lost here about the terminology of intelligence and self-learning. To me, intelligence means the ability to understand the issues, and consider all the possibilities, reason and    make the right decision. In order to do this, one has to be alive and has to have one of the most complex biological, anatomical and functional organ, “human brain” and nervous system. In order to think,  our brain instantly manufacture numerous signal molecules (neuropeptides) to notify, tens of thousands nerve cells (neurons), in the specialized functional  section of the brain. The human brain is composed of 100 trillion of nerve cells.

A.I. Machines do not have thinking brain, they have algorithms, they blindly follow their programmed algorithms without any emotions or concerns.

What is more scary about A.I. machines is that they are prone to biased, deceptive programming, they are prone to hacking, spying, mass surveillance, cyber warfare or autonomous robotic warfare.

Since machines are not responsible for their actions, then who is responsible for everything they do, which is launched algorithmically, robotically and blindly? The answer is obvious: Tech companies and their scientists and programmers.

Human nature with its darkest impulses and the forces of capitalism can easily drive giant tech companies to anything for ever more profits. Unethical war profiteering, replacement of millions of jobs with robotic automation, without any concern about social injustice, for the sake of more profit, could become common.

Therefore, there has to be some rules and regulatory oversight to prevent malicious use of these powerful technology, worldwide in every countries. This task only could be accomplished through the United Nations.