Artificial intelligence is already stealing many of our jobs, but not the ones you might think of.
Figure 1.1: Front page of Google Images. You can see the camera icon on the right of the bar, click that and you can upload your image.
Figure 1.3: The software correctly recognises it as the Robot ASIMO by Honda, and offers similar images in return. Notice that the proposed images show ASIMO in different positions and angles, not the same image in different sizes. This algorithm recognises millions of different patterns, as it is a general-purpose application. A task-specific pattern recognition software is less complex to develop, although it must be much more accurate as the stakes are higher.
The example is taken from The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, Martin Ford, 2009. CreateSpace. pp.64-67.
“In reality, there is another factor that might slow the adoption of full automation in Radiology: that is malpractice liability. Because the result of a mistake or oversight in reading a medical scan would likely be dire for the patient, the maker of a completely automated system would assume huge potential liability in the event of errors. This liability, of course, also exists for radiologists, but it is distributed across thousands of doctors. However, it is certainly possible that legislation and/or court decisions will largely remove this barrier in the future. For example, in February 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that, in certain cases, medical device manufacturers are protected from product liability cases as long as the FDA has approved the device. In general, we can expect that non-technological factors such as product liability or the power of organised labor will slow automation in certain fields, but the overall trend will remain relentless” from: The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future, Martin Ford, 2009. CreateSpace. p.67.
Can AI Fight Terrorism?, Juval Aviv, 2009. Forbes.
Smart CCTV System Would Use Algorithm to Zero in on Crime-Like Behavior, Clay Dillow, 2011. Popular Science.
The offshoring of radiology: myths and realities, Martin Stack, Myles Gartland, Timothy Keane, 2007. SAM Advanced Management Journal.
Comparing machines and humans on a visual categorization test, François Fleuret, Ting Li, Charles Dubout, Emma K. Wampler, Steven Yantis, and Donald Geman, 2011. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, Kurzweil, 2005. Penguin Books.
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