Whether its technology such as touch screen phones, laptops (handheld computers), smart TVs, etc. Machines all serve their purpose to help benefit us in our daily lives. The industry constructing machines creates a huge need of laborers to work with and run machines. In result of the increased labor filled from open employment opportunities, and production. Companies noticed economic profits increase drastically and humanity gains large benefit from using machines, also it leads to massive improvement in worker efficiency.
First and foremost, I believe overall that machines are ultimately here to assist humans and make our lives easier. Machines perform work faster than human beings. Machines accomplish tasks at a high efficiency rate. A machine can perform a job in an hour or less that a human would generally take weeks to complete. Organizations, companies, etc., utilize machines which will enable them to produce more goods or services within a respected time frame. With the use of a machine, an organization will be able to accomplish tasks, and ensure that there are no delays to their customers.
Machines have an advantage as that they do not get exhausted, as opposed to human labor, a machines can be programmed to work a full 24 hrs without getting tired. For example, in a factory a forklift can work for twenty-four hours without getting exhausted. A machine is also not concerned with its working hours as opposed to the human beings who will only work for eight hours per day and any hour above that will be paid as overtime. Machines won't require that they need to get paid for working overtime. Once a machine is constructed you don't have to add it to the payroll. Although their assets to build them prove to be very costly they do not need to be paid a salary or a wage. The money which the organization would have used as salaries shifts into part of the profit. A machine will operate in the same way and will not vary with time. This is very important especially in mass productions where the organization needs to produce a lot of goods which are similar with one another. It makes it easier to test the quality of the goods since just a sample is needed and it acts as a representative of the rest of the products. The sample is a true representation since the machine produced goods which were all the same.
Subsequently, humans actually play a key part into why machines post a threat to humans. A prime of example this is gun violence. Even though guns are classified as dangerous, its ultimately the wielder’s decision of how they choose to use them. As the years go by many innocent lives are lost to random acts of gun violence. Whether its targeted from anger, greed, jealousy, etc., humans always find a way to use guns for the wrong reasons. According to a post from the NY Times, more people died from firearm injuries in the United States last year than in any other year since at least 1968, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 39,773 gun deaths in 2017, up by more than 1,000 from the year before. Even though guns were primarily created to protect and defend humans find ways to improperly them for inexplicable reasons. Another example of how humans are destructive with machines is drunk driving. Drunk drivers threaten not only their lives but the lives of those who are on the streets with them. Studies shown that every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes—that's one person every 48 minutes in 2017. Even though cars are a valid source of transportation, impaired individuals shouldn’t be operating the vehicle but it always comes about somehow.
In sequence and response to Stephen Hawking’s claim that AI may one day equip computers with the tools to outsmart humans and the possibility that robots will post a grave danger to humankind, I would agree. Artificial Intelligence poses threat to humanity. Respected individuals in the field of science and technology such as Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have voiced their concerns on this issue. If professionals that are well accredited in working with AI show concern then that should be a major red flag. Imagine if Artificial Intelligence got control of things like weapons and weapon control systems. This would mean that they have the ability to attack various targets without humans’ direction. This would be extremely disastrous. People need to worry about the effects that artificial intelligence will have on humanity. Scientists have issued a warning towards the development of AI will result in mass unemployment. This is because the machines will have the ability to outperform humans in the execution of different tasks. With recent advancement of technology in today’s age, there could be a great risk that AI could become smart enough to invent their own AI based off their previous software but just as an upgraded version. AI could be capable of copying the human tendencies and mimic us or even worse, adjusting themselves to believe they are superior towards us.
In conclusion, the real threat of machines stems from humans and how they use them. Usually machines are created to serve a certain purpose, but it’s up to the user and their intentions whether it proves to be ethical or not. Things such as cyberbullying, drunk driving, gun violence, etc all prove how humans wrongfully use machines. Wrongful use of these machines all come from a sample of different sources such as insanity, envy, greed, etc., all negative intentions. For example, back around July 2013, Danielle Parker killed her romantic partner, an East Point police officer, in early July after the two had split up and she learned that Crystal Parker had moved on.
On the positive side, machines generally help out employees and companies, the use of machines in the industry main purpose is to improve worker efficiency and overall promote company production with customer satisfaction. But on the contrary, artificial intelligence does have the possibility to one day outsmart humans. With advancements of technology today AI can find a way to find enter certain databases and recontrust or improvise on their own tools for the better of themselves. Intelligence machines could ultimately think they are the superior race and plan to evade the human race altogether.