Vicar Sayeedi's Blog, page 5
July 6, 2021
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go From Here?
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go From Here?
Vicar Sayeedi
July 5, 2021
We are in a very dark and dangerous time in our history and although this is deeply alarming, the situation is certainly not unprecedented. The Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin recently pointed out that America faced similar situations in its history, most notably during the 1850’s when Southern Democrats collectively rejected the Republican legislative and policy agenda. This contentious and divisive political climate culminated in the American Civil War of 1861-1865, a war far more brutal, deadly and destructive than the conflict of the American Revolution upon which the nation was founded.
In the end though, America survived as a contiguous nation and the Secessionists lost. The nation emancipated its slaves but reunification came at a very high human cost. This is the essence of the warning for America’s financial, industrial and political elite today – the longer we take to find the will to unify the country the more difficult it will be to do so and the higher the cost will be.
It does seem that the Biden Administration recognizes both the rising danger and its warning signs – it is trying very hard to address the harsh realities and feeling of social humiliation and irrelevance that characterizes the lives of tens of millions of downtrodden Americans. These citizens believe that the American government has failed them. They are right.
Further complicating America’s unsettled internal climate is the rise of Authoritarianism paired with a market economy in China and the alarming retreat towards Authoritarianism in twenty-five countries since 2000, countries whom in the 1990’s were on a path to democracy. Today, the very notion of democracy finds itself in a difficult place – too many people across this country no longer believe our system of government and markets serves society’s interests. To many, it seems that people now exist to serve the markets. This is similarly the case in other major Western economies, as well. The transition over the past forty years from a commercial philosophy in which industry endeavored to earn a reasonable profit, while also caring for society and the nation, to a commercial philosophy of maximizing profit, an ideology in which profit has been deified to the extent that everything must be sacrificed at its altar, has done enormous, perhaps existential damage to our nation and democracy.
In the 2016 election, Trump secured 74 million votes and Biden secured 81 million votes. However, when we look more closely at these numbers, we see some very disturbing trends. The counties where Biden won represent 70% of America’s GDP but just 5% of the nation’s landmass. Conversely, the counties where Trump won represent just 30% of America’s GDP but 95% of its landmass. This is extraordinary – it’s an urban-rural divide, a clash of cultures perhaps resembling North versus South in the period leading up to the American Civil War.
The cosmopolitan, credentialed, educated, liberal elite that inhabit America’s major cities – a diverse society whose culture, life and values are celebrated and chronicled in film, literature and theatre – today face off against an invisible and vanquished proletariat whose meaningless lives hold no value for anyone, anywhere. It’s a desperate plot perhaps best befitting a Shakespearean tragedy. It doesn’t take a historian to recognize that such underlying tension is likely to erupt into something truly awful.
But given the dearth of ideas of how to move the nation forward, Republicans have instead harnessed the very despair of these faceless, marginalized, rural peasants who serve in the much poorer physical economy. Subsequently, the GOP aligned themselves against those who represent the urban society, the residents of the nation’s major metropolis [Boston, Chicago, Miami, NYC, Silicon Valley, etc.] who so resoundingly dominate today’s Digital Economy as it races ahead with 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including AI, Biotech, Computing [Quantum and Super] and Data Science.
In 2001, just prior to the September 11 incident that brought down NYC’s iconic World Trade Center Twin Towers and the Dot Com bubble burst early the following year, the US reported a GDP of $10T. In 2020, just nineteen years later, the US reported a GDP of $20T. US GDP has doubled yet all the problems society currently faces, the problems we were told would go away once the economy begins to expand again, remain. The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies during the current decade will only exacerbate our dangerous dilemma.
We need to recognize that the deification of profit lies at the core of everything that has gone wrong with America – the notion and now reality that society exists to serve markets. The only way to reconcile the situation – short of dangerous civil conflict – is for both sides to heed the warnings from Doris Kearns Goodwin and other leading Public Intellectuals before the guns of war are arrayed across the battlefield, because at that point, it will be too late. We received a sober warning on January 6th but next time this incendiary reality may not be so easy to extinguish.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London and the National Library of Singapore.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go From Here?
Vicar Sayeedi
July 5, 2021
We are in a very dark and dangerous time in our history and although this is deeply alarming, the situation is certainly not unprecedented. The Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin recently pointed out that America faced similar situations in its history, most notably during the 1850’s when Southern Democrats collectively rejected the Republican legislative and policy agenda. This contentious and divisive political climate culminated in the American Civil War of 1861-1865, a war far more brutal, deadly and destructive than the conflict of the American Revolution upon which the nation was founded.
In the end though, America survived as a contiguous nation and the Secessionists lost. The nation emancipated its slaves but reunification came at a very high human cost. This is the essence of the warning for America’s financial, industrial and political elite today – the longer we take to find the will to unify the country the more difficult it will be to do so and the higher the cost will be.
It does seem that the Biden Administration recognizes both the rising danger and its warning signs – it is trying very hard to address the harsh realities and feeling of social humiliation and irrelevance that characterizes the lives of tens of millions of downtrodden Americans. These citizens believe that the American government has failed them. They are right.
Further complicating America’s unsettled internal climate is the rise of Authoritarianism paired with a market economy in China and the alarming retreat towards Authoritarianism in twenty-five countries since 2000, countries whom in the 1990’s were on a path to democracy. Today, the very notion of democracy finds itself in a difficult place – too many people across this country no longer believe our system of government and markets serves society’s interests. To many, it seems that people now exist to serve the markets. This is similarly the case in other major Western economies, as well. The transition over the past forty years from a commercial philosophy in which industry endeavored to earn a reasonable profit, while also caring for society and the nation, to a commercial philosophy of maximizing profit, an ideology in which profit has been deified to the extent that everything must be sacrificed at its altar, has done enormous, perhaps existential damage to our nation and democracy.
In the 2016 election, Trump secured 74 million votes and Biden secured 81 million votes. However, when we look more closely at these numbers, we see some very disturbing trends. The counties where Biden won represent 70% of America’s GDP but just 5% of the nation’s landmass. Conversely, the counties where Trump won represent just 30% of America’s GDP but 95% of its landmass. This is extraordinary – it’s an urban-rural divide, a clash of cultures perhaps resembling North versus South in the period leading up to the American Civil War.
The cosmopolitan, credentialed, educated, liberal elite that inhabit America’s major cities – a diverse society whose culture, life and values are celebrated and chronicled in film, literature and theatre – today face off against an invisible and vanquished proletariat whose meaningless lives hold no value for anyone, anywhere. It’s a desperate plot perhaps best befitting a Shakespearean tragedy. It doesn’t take a historian to recognize that such underlying tension is likely to erupt into something truly awful.
But given the dearth of ideas of how to move the nation forward, Republicans have instead harnessed the very despair of these faceless, marginalized, rural peasants who serve in the much poorer physical economy. Subsequently, the GOP aligned themselves against those who represent the urban society, the residents of the nation’s major metropolis [Boston, Chicago, Miami, NYC, Silicon Valley, etc.] who so resoundingly dominate today’s Digital Economy as it races ahead with 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including AI, Biotech, Computing [Quantum and Super] and Data Science.
In 2001, just prior to the September 11 incident that brought down NYC’s iconic World Trade Center Twin Towers and the Dot Com bubble burst early the following year, the US reported a GDP of $10T. In 2020, just nineteen years later, the US reported a GDP of $20T. US GDP has doubled yet all the problems society currently faces, the problems we were told would go away once the economy begins to expand again, remain. The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies during the current decade will only exacerbate our dangerous dilemma.
We need to recognize that the deification of profit lies at the core of everything that has gone wrong with America – the notion and now reality that society exists to serve markets. The only way to reconcile the situation – short of dangerous civil conflict – is for both sides to heed the warnings from Doris Kearns Goodwin and other leading Public Intellectuals before the guns of war are arrayed across the battlefield, because at that point, it will be too late. We received a sober warning on January 6th but next time this incendiary reality may not be so easy to extinguish.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London and the National Library of Singapore.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children.
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Episode 66 - https://youtu.be/cplR62KTa88
America & the 4th Industrial Revolution | Where do We Go From Here?
June 25, 2021
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Vicar Sayeedi
June 25, 2021
The development of Artificial Intelligence is advancing rapidly across a wide range of applications and a cross section of industries. On a daily basis we can conduct a Google search and find numerous new articles published on the subject of AI from countless perspectives. Although we are some years away from Artificial General Intelligence and Artificial Super Intelligence, the AI Agents deployed today are remarkably capable and powerful. Observing them in action is humbling and gives us pause for both concern and reflection.
However, the one crucial area of focus that receives little media attention or real world investment is that of AI regulation, particularly when we consider the extraordinary level of attention and investment being allocated to product and technology development. This is worrisome. It is critical that those tasked with legislating and regulating financial, industrial and military practices for the safety of society and humankind are actively working to ensure the safe development of AI and the guidelines under which it will be deployed. In the case of AI and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies, the lack of progress in preemptive legislative and regulatory policy is alarming since AI is likely to be the single most powerful technology humankind has ever invented.
Today, there are many AI practitioners and thinkers who are of the opinion that AI may be our final invention. Once we develop General AI, the leap to Super AI will be nearly instantaneous. The technology will then operate at a level beyond human comprehension or control. In this scenario we are unlikely to be able to evaluate or understand how it reaches its decisions or to curtail its actions. AI will likely replace the Scientific Method of Inquiry with a new modality of inquiry, once again, beyond humankind’s comprehension or imagination.
Thousands of years ago, at the beginning of civilization and the Agricultural Revolution, humankind acquired rudimentary skills in bioengineering. They observed the incredible strength of a bull and craved harnessing this strength so they could put it to work for their own benefit. They needed to apply the strength of this beast so they could make the burden of life in the new agricultural economy a little easier and more productive. With some quite unpleasant and rather dangerous experiments, humans learned that if they could successfully castrate the bull, the beast would retain its strength but would become considerably more docile and manageable. This early attempt at bioengineering proved very effective and resulted in the oxen. These considerably calmer beasts have made agriculture just a little easier for farmers for thousands of years.
With time, humankind learned that they could perform the same castration procedure on humans, as well. In the Middle Ages priests engaged in the practice of castrating young choirboys before the onset of puberty. The priests wanted to preserve a choirboy’s pleasing soprano voice that often disappeared with puberty. But following castration, they could continue to perform in the choir with some of them developing into wonderful soloists. In the Islamic World, some men would be ordered to undergo castration so they could serve the countless women within the confined and private spaces of the Sultan’s harem without any risk of sexual interaction with these women. Of course, during the medieval period of history there was no regulation in society that could prevent these actions from being involuntarily performed on minors or those without any capacity to resist. The society lived under the authoritarian rule of clerics and monarchs who did as they pleased.
During the Renaissance, Gutenberg’s integration of the age old technique of block printing and the presses used to make olive oil and wine led to the invention of the Printing Press and this remarkable device paved the way for the Catholic Reformation, the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. Together, these movements eventually culminated in the 1st Industrial Revolution. Now for the first time in history, with the invention of the steam engine, humankind had decisively overcome its limitations on human strength.
Initially, steam engines were used to power factories and coalmines and this resulted in a dramatic increase in industrial productivity. Soon, the steam engine was being used to power locomotives and ships, thus reducing the time required to transport goods and people by nearly 80%. Freight and travelers began to regularly circumnavigate the globe at an unprecedented rate and volume.
By the early 20th century, the 2nd Industrial Revolution led to the rapid deployment of electricity throughout cities and towns in Western Europe and North America and this also changed society dramatically and permanently. People were migrating to cities at a rapidly increasing rate. Both productivity and the economy continued to grow as the twenty-four hour availability of light and electricity enabled the birth of countless new industries. The 3rd Industrial Revolution was characterized by the introduction of computers, initially very large machines available only to financial, government or industrial organizations. But gradually, the machines were produced in smaller and smaller but equally or even more powerful units that could fit within everyone’s office or school bag and eventually in their pockets.
Throughout these three phases of the Industrial Revolution though, humankind encountered many challenges that eventually led to legislation and regulation. Society had transitioned from the absolute rule of clerics and monarchs to increasingly democratic rule and so legislation and regulation to protect ordinary citizens became more realistic and prevalent. For example, during the 1st Industrial Revolution, children as young as seven or eight were put to work as a source of cheap labor, toiling for long hours in factories and mines throughout America, Continental Europe and England. But as it became apparent that this exploitative behavior of the most vulnerable members of society was unethical and not to be tolerated, laws were passed and regulations were enforced and the use of child labor became socially unacceptable and punishable, at least in the industrializing world.
But with Artificial Intelligence, Bioengineering and other powerful 4th Industrial Revolution technologies we are unlikely to have the luxury of waiting to see how badly society is damaged before initiating legislative and regulatory responses – the damage is likely to be irreversible and so it is likely to be too late. Thus, we need to invest immediately in this work, particularly in the domain of AI-enabled weapons. These weapons are likely to be amongst the applications of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies that require a great deal of attention since they are amongst the most destructive applications of Artificial Intelligence we are ever likely to see.
In the final analysis, Artificial Intelligence will overcome humankind’s limitation on its intelligence, its intellectual capacity. This is the very capability that when combined with our ability to cooperate in large numbers is the reason that we rule the world. But as AI supersedes humankind in one or both of its two prime advantages, a lack of advanced meaningful legislation and regulation could well mark our end.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London and the National Library of Singapore.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
Vicar Sayeedi
June 25, 2021
The development of Artificial Intelligence is advancing rapidly across a wide range of applications and a cross section of industries. On a daily basis we can conduct a Google search and find numerous new articles published on the subject of AI from countless perspectives. Although we are some years away from Artificial General Intelligence and Artificial Super Intelligence, the AI Agents deployed today are remarkably capable and powerful. Observing them in action is humbling and gives us pause for both concern and reflection.
However, the one crucial area of focus that receives little media attention or real world investment is that of AI regulation, particularly when we consider the extraordinary level of attention and investment being allocated to product and technology development. This is worrisome. It is critical that those tasked with legislating and regulating financial, industrial and military practices for the safety of society and humankind are actively working to ensure the safe development of AI and the guidelines under which it will be deployed. In the case of AI and other 4th Industrial Revolution technologies, the lack of progress in preemptive legislative and regulatory policy is alarming since AI is likely to be the single most powerful technology humankind has ever invented.
Today, there are many AI practitioners and thinkers who are of the opinion that AI may be our final invention. Once we develop General AI, the leap to Super AI will be nearly instantaneous. The technology will then operate at a level beyond human comprehension or control. In this scenario we are unlikely to be able to evaluate or understand how it reaches its decisions or to curtail its actions. AI will likely replace the Scientific Method of Inquiry with a new modality of inquiry, once again, beyond humankind’s comprehension or imagination.
Thousands of years ago, at the beginning of civilization and the Agricultural Revolution, humankind acquired rudimentary skills in bioengineering. They observed the incredible strength of a bull and craved harnessing this strength so they could put it to work for their own benefit. They needed to apply the strength of this beast so they could make the burden of life in the new agricultural economy a little easier and more productive. With some quite unpleasant and rather dangerous experiments, humans learned that if they could successfully castrate the bull, the beast would retain its strength but would become considerably more docile and manageable. This early attempt at bioengineering proved very effective and resulted in the oxen. These considerably calmer beasts have made agriculture just a little easier for farmers for thousands of years.
With time, humankind learned that they could perform the same castration procedure on humans, as well. In the Middle Ages priests engaged in the practice of castrating young choirboys before the onset of puberty. The priests wanted to preserve a choirboy’s pleasing soprano voice that often disappeared with puberty. But following castration, they could continue to perform in the choir with some of them developing into wonderful soloists. In the Islamic World, some men would be ordered to undergo castration so they could serve the countless women within the confined and private spaces of the Sultan’s harem without any risk of sexual interaction with these women. Of course, during the medieval period of history there was no regulation in society that could prevent these actions from being involuntarily performed on minors or those without any capacity to resist. The society lived under the authoritarian rule of clerics and monarchs who did as they pleased.
During the Renaissance, Gutenberg’s integration of the age old technique of block printing and the presses used to make olive oil and wine led to the invention of the Printing Press and this remarkable device paved the way for the Catholic Reformation, the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. Together, these movements eventually culminated in the 1st Industrial Revolution. Now for the first time in history, with the invention of the steam engine, humankind had decisively overcome its limitations on human strength.
Initially, steam engines were used to power factories and coalmines and this resulted in a dramatic increase in industrial productivity. Soon, the steam engine was being used to power locomotives and ships, thus reducing the time required to transport goods and people by nearly 80%. Freight and travelers began to regularly circumnavigate the globe at an unprecedented rate and volume.
By the early 20th century, the 2nd Industrial Revolution led to the rapid deployment of electricity throughout cities and towns in Western Europe and North America and this also changed society dramatically and permanently. People were migrating to cities at a rapidly increasing rate. Both productivity and the economy continued to grow as the twenty-four hour availability of light and electricity enabled the birth of countless new industries. The 3rd Industrial Revolution was characterized by the introduction of computers, initially very large machines available only to financial, government or industrial organizations. But gradually, the machines were produced in smaller and smaller but equally or even more powerful units that could fit within everyone’s office or school bag and eventually in their pockets.
Throughout these three phases of the Industrial Revolution though, humankind encountered many challenges that eventually led to legislation and regulation. Society had transitioned from the absolute rule of clerics and monarchs to increasingly democratic rule and so legislation and regulation to protect ordinary citizens became more realistic and prevalent. For example, during the 1st Industrial Revolution, children as young as seven or eight were put to work as a source of cheap labor, toiling for long hours in factories and mines throughout America, Continental Europe and England. But as it became apparent that this exploitative behavior of the most vulnerable members of society was unethical and not to be tolerated, laws were passed and regulations were enforced and the use of child labor became socially unacceptable and punishable, at least in the industrializing world.
But with Artificial Intelligence, Bioengineering and other powerful 4th Industrial Revolution technologies we are unlikely to have the luxury of waiting to see how badly society is damaged before initiating legislative and regulatory responses – the damage is likely to be irreversible and so it is likely to be too late. Thus, we need to invest immediately in this work, particularly in the domain of AI-enabled weapons. These weapons are likely to be amongst the applications of 4th Industrial Revolution technologies that require a great deal of attention since they are amongst the most destructive applications of Artificial Intelligence we are ever likely to see.
In the final analysis, Artificial Intelligence will overcome humankind’s limitation on its intelligence, its intellectual capacity. This is the very capability that when combined with our ability to cooperate in large numbers is the reason that we rule the world. But as AI supersedes humankind in one or both of its two prime advantages, a lack of advanced meaningful legislation and regulation could well mark our end.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar has lectured widely on the subject of Artificial Intelligence including at the National Hemophilia Foundation, The Royal Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster in London and the National Library of Singapore.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Episode 65 - https://youtu.be/1nKbTMzfpqM
Artificial Intelligence | Humankind’s Final and Greatest Invention
June 15, 2021
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 15, 2021
Over the past few years, technologically advanced weapons systems, including lethal autonomous weapons systems enabled by AI, have begun to take their place within the arsenals of most advanced military forces on the planet. As its capabilities and sophistication continue to advance at a dizzying pace, AI will soon be at the center of virtually every military command and control center, as well, leaving many observers to openly question whether humans will have any role to play in conflicts of the future – conflicts that exceed human capacity to understand what is happening in real time and therefore how best to respond.
AI’s emergence as a weapon of choice has taken hold in a steady, gradual manner. Over the past five years, cyber warfare initiated by both state and non-state actors has become increasingly common and as a result we can expect to experience $20 billion in related losses by the end of 2021. On an annualized basis, this is an increase of nearly 500% since 2016.
In the past, in fact, since the beginning of human civilization some twelve thousand years ago, war was a near constant reality of life and peace was nothing more than a brief interlude between wars. It was a somber time marked by the burial of each side’s war dead and was a time to make desperate attempts to treat the wounded, all the while rearming and preparing more soldiers for the next phase of never ending conflict. Our present reality, characterized by the previously described steady, steep escalation in the level of cyber warfare, is beginning to bear an uncanny resemblance to our historical reality of unending war as sophisticated state and non-state actors probe and attack vital infrastructure including commercial and consumer financial systems, critical health and hospital systems, electrical power grids, national security and early warning radar systems, sewage and water treatment plants and virtually every commercial and government entity of merit or significance. Critical commercial, institutional and infrastructure vulnerabilities are constantly being probed, with ongoing attacks characterizing the new norm. These attacks will soon be endemic and the resulting economic costs will be both burdensome and enormous. The sense of national security that has come to represent an expected norm of life in Western Developed Economies will wane and will instead begin to resemble that of other parts of the world that have lived under countless, varied threats for generations and centuries.
Today, AI is transforming virtually every aspect of our lives and so it’s not at all surprising that this 4th Industrial Revolution technology will also transform how we engage in conflict. For the first time in human history, the invention of the steam engine that demarcated the dawn of the 1st Industrial Revolution enabled humankind to overcome its limitation on human strength. Now, once again for the first time in human history, we are on the cusp of comprehensively overcoming the limitations of human general intelligence and the combination of this ability with other advanced technologies will change our world in an unprecedented manner. Military engagements of the future will be far more efficient and intelligent than ever before – and they will be potentially far more lethal, as well.
The first major advancement in warfare in human history was the transition from hand-to-hand combat using daggers, knives, maces, swords and other hand-held weapons, This period was followed by the introduction of gun powder and eventually by nuclear weapons. But the greatest invention of humankind in the last twelve thousand years, our pièce de résistance, is unquestionably Artificial Intelligence and it will transform future human conflict and life completely. Nuclear weapons will retain their ability as weapons of mass destruction and as such will remain an existential threat, but the governance surrounding their deployment will likely be entrusted to an AI Agent.
Taken together, these developments will certainly make our world a far more dangerous place. In fact, most observers concede that a new arms race in AI-enabled weapons has already begun and this is now an inescapable reality of our world. Threats of apocalyptic outcomes are no longer science fiction scenarios but are increasingly plausible outcomes. Military Command and Control systems under the authority of AI can vigilantly monitor vast quantities of data and are thus best placed to initiate war without human intervention or confirmation. This loss of human agency could easily result in a conflict spiraling off into an apocalyptic direction from which we may be unable to return.
Since the complexity surrounding the decision of whether to initiate conflict and in what manner is rapidly reaching a point involving analysis beyond the limits of human comprehension and processing speed, we will need to decide whether such agency should ever be granted to these Command and Control AI Agents or whether such systems can even be disabled, if and when the need arises. For example, American early warning radar systems distributed across America as well as in the UK and Greenland are networked and therefore vulnerable to cyber hacking. The vulnerability of this critical component in our security apparatus leaves America and its allies who depend upon the capabilities of these early warning systems open and vulnerable to cyber attack, probably followed by an attack by sophisticated weapons systems. This reality makes these early warning systems a rich target for an antagonist.
For example, discovering malware inserted into the code at Filingdale’s, an early warning radar system monitoring Russian airspace from England’s northeast coast could leave national security agencies in the Five Eyes Security Alliance wondering - has the malware been placed there for espionage purposes or is it a part of some forthcoming offensive operation? There may be insufficient time to properly attribute the discovered malware to the correct antagonist, particularly when decisions on how to best respond may need to be made quickly. Is the antagonist China, North Korea or Russia? Or is it someone else? In such a tense situation, there may be no way to ascertain the answer quickly enough and there may be insufficient expertise and time to decode the malware to determine its true function. This scenario has all the hallmarks of a disaster and could easily lead to a first use of nuclear weapons.
In late 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought over a disputed region in the Caucuses called Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azeris had a large number, perhaps as many as 200, of what are known as loitering munitions while the Armenians had only one home grown version of this weapon. These weapons known as Harpy were built by IAI, an Israeli high tech weapons manufacturer. These autonomous munitions can fly to a particular point and then hover for hours until their target, most likely a mobile missile launcher, becomes visible. The Harpy then flies a kamikaze mission directly into the mobile missile launch vehicle. The technology gave the Azeris a decisive victory over the Armenians.
Another worrisome variant of this technology are tiny but lethal swarming drones that are also entering the arsenals of national militaries and some of these technologies may be difficult to limit to military use. They will likely find their way into the hands of so many nefarious actors around the world. As a result of these developments and their worrisome potential, the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence is recommending massive new investments in AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons systems to ensure that America and its allies are on the leading edge of such emerging AI-enabled battlefield technologies.
A UN Commission on AI-enabled weapons systems wants all Member States to agree that these weapons must remain under human control but the consensus nature of the forum means any individual State can obstruct progress. This is precisely what is happening – discussion and debate is unable to move towards negotiations with Russia taking a particularly obstructionist position. Meanwhile, most major military powers have been unwilling to support a treaty banning such weapons but have been more amenable towards discussions around their ethical use.
Going forward, AI-enabled weapons will be an application of 4th Industrial Revolution technology requiring a great deal of attention since it is likely to be amongst the most destructive applications of Artificial Intelligence we are likely to see.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 15, 2021
Over the past few years, technologically advanced weapons systems, including lethal autonomous weapons systems enabled by AI, have begun to take their place within the arsenals of most advanced military forces on the planet. As its capabilities and sophistication continue to advance at a dizzying pace, AI will soon be at the center of virtually every military command and control center, as well, leaving many observers to openly question whether humans will have any role to play in conflicts of the future – conflicts that exceed human capacity to understand what is happening in real time and therefore how best to respond.
AI’s emergence as a weapon of choice has taken hold in a steady, gradual manner. Over the past five years, cyber warfare initiated by both state and non-state actors has become increasingly common and as a result we can expect to experience $20 billion in related losses by the end of 2021. On an annualized basis, this is an increase of nearly 500% since 2016.
In the past, in fact, since the beginning of human civilization some twelve thousand years ago, war was a near constant reality of life and peace was nothing more than a brief interlude between wars. It was a somber time marked by the burial of each side’s war dead and was a time to make desperate attempts to treat the wounded, all the while rearming and preparing more soldiers for the next phase of never ending conflict. Our present reality, characterized by the previously described steady, steep escalation in the level of cyber warfare, is beginning to bear an uncanny resemblance to our historical reality of unending war as sophisticated state and non-state actors probe and attack vital infrastructure including commercial and consumer financial systems, critical health and hospital systems, electrical power grids, national security and early warning radar systems, sewage and water treatment plants and virtually every commercial and government entity of merit or significance. Critical commercial, institutional and infrastructure vulnerabilities are constantly being probed, with ongoing attacks characterizing the new norm. These attacks will soon be endemic and the resulting economic costs will be both burdensome and enormous. The sense of national security that has come to represent an expected norm of life in Western Developed Economies will wane and will instead begin to resemble that of other parts of the world that have lived under countless, varied threats for generations and centuries.
Today, AI is transforming virtually every aspect of our lives and so it’s not at all surprising that this 4th Industrial Revolution technology will also transform how we engage in conflict. For the first time in human history, the invention of the steam engine that demarcated the dawn of the 1st Industrial Revolution enabled humankind to overcome its limitation on human strength. Now, once again for the first time in human history, we are on the cusp of comprehensively overcoming the limitations of human general intelligence and the combination of this ability with other advanced technologies will change our world in an unprecedented manner. Military engagements of the future will be far more efficient and intelligent than ever before – and they will be potentially far more lethal, as well.
The first major advancement in warfare in human history was the transition from hand-to-hand combat using daggers, knives, maces, swords and other hand-held weapons, This period was followed by the introduction of gun powder and eventually by nuclear weapons. But the greatest invention of humankind in the last twelve thousand years, our pièce de résistance, is unquestionably Artificial Intelligence and it will transform future human conflict and life completely. Nuclear weapons will retain their ability as weapons of mass destruction and as such will remain an existential threat, but the governance surrounding their deployment will likely be entrusted to an AI Agent.
Taken together, these developments will certainly make our world a far more dangerous place. In fact, most observers concede that a new arms race in AI-enabled weapons has already begun and this is now an inescapable reality of our world. Threats of apocalyptic outcomes are no longer science fiction scenarios but are increasingly plausible outcomes. Military Command and Control systems under the authority of AI can vigilantly monitor vast quantities of data and are thus best placed to initiate war without human intervention or confirmation. This loss of human agency could easily result in a conflict spiraling off into an apocalyptic direction from which we may be unable to return.
Since the complexity surrounding the decision of whether to initiate conflict and in what manner is rapidly reaching a point involving analysis beyond the limits of human comprehension and processing speed, we will need to decide whether such agency should ever be granted to these Command and Control AI Agents or whether such systems can even be disabled, if and when the need arises. For example, American early warning radar systems distributed across America as well as in the UK and Greenland are networked and therefore vulnerable to cyber hacking. The vulnerability of this critical component in our security apparatus leaves America and its allies who depend upon the capabilities of these early warning systems open and vulnerable to cyber attack, probably followed by an attack by sophisticated weapons systems. This reality makes these early warning systems a rich target for an antagonist.
For example, discovering malware inserted into the code at Filingdale’s, an early warning radar system monitoring Russian airspace from England’s northeast coast could leave national security agencies in the Five Eyes Security Alliance wondering - has the malware been placed there for espionage purposes or is it a part of some forthcoming offensive operation? There may be insufficient time to properly attribute the discovered malware to the correct antagonist, particularly when decisions on how to best respond may need to be made quickly. Is the antagonist China, North Korea or Russia? Or is it someone else? In such a tense situation, there may be no way to ascertain the answer quickly enough and there may be insufficient expertise and time to decode the malware to determine its true function. This scenario has all the hallmarks of a disaster and could easily lead to a first use of nuclear weapons.
In late 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought over a disputed region in the Caucuses called Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azeris had a large number, perhaps as many as 200, of what are known as loitering munitions while the Armenians had only one home grown version of this weapon. These weapons known as Harpy were built by IAI, an Israeli high tech weapons manufacturer. These autonomous munitions can fly to a particular point and then hover for hours until their target, most likely a mobile missile launcher, becomes visible. The Harpy then flies a kamikaze mission directly into the mobile missile launch vehicle. The technology gave the Azeris a decisive victory over the Armenians.
Another worrisome variant of this technology are tiny but lethal swarming drones that are also entering the arsenals of national militaries and some of these technologies may be difficult to limit to military use. They will likely find their way into the hands of so many nefarious actors around the world. As a result of these developments and their worrisome potential, the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence is recommending massive new investments in AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons systems to ensure that America and its allies are on the leading edge of such emerging AI-enabled battlefield technologies.
A UN Commission on AI-enabled weapons systems wants all Member States to agree that these weapons must remain under human control but the consensus nature of the forum means any individual State can obstruct progress. This is precisely what is happening – discussion and debate is unable to move towards negotiations with Russia taking a particularly obstructionist position. Meanwhile, most major military powers have been unwilling to support a treaty banning such weapons but have been more amenable towards discussions around their ethical use.
Going forward, AI-enabled weapons will be an application of 4th Industrial Revolution technology requiring a great deal of attention since it is likely to be amongst the most destructive applications of Artificial Intelligence we are likely to see.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Episode 64 - https://youtu.be/9s-Go1TYK9c
AI, Cyber Attacks & the Future of War | Where are We Headed?
June 3, 2021
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 3, 2021
Evolutionary Biology and Evolutionary Psychology are powerful forces. To a large extent they determine the behavior of all species in the Animal Kingdom. Over millions of years, these forces have shaped our behavior thus enabling us to have the best chance to survive as individuals and as a species.
One attribute that has been hardwired into our psychology through these evolutionary processes is Xenophobia. Generally speaking, Xenophobia is a fear of the unfamiliar. This could be a fear of unfamiliar people, places or other creatures and is rooted in our Mammalian brain, our Limbic System, which is home to our emotions and impulses. It causes us to distance and protect ourselves from the unfamiliar and is a critical, built-in defense and survival mechanism.
At a cognitive level, we know that we are limited by our prefrontal cortex in the number of meaningful, sustainable relationships that we can have with other humans. This limit to these types of relationships is approximately 150 and has been confirmed by studying the archeological evidence of ancient, nomadic hunter-gatherer societies as well as by observing nomadic communities still present in the world today. We can also observe this phenomenon in numerous commercial enterprises, military units and many other organizations that operate well when they remain under the limit but rapidly devolve into chaos once the limit is breached.
Robin Dunbar, the Evolutionary Psychologist and Anthropologist at Magdalene College, Oxford University has mapped out the human social network as a series of six concentric circles in a model known as the Rule of 150. In the innermost circle of Dunbar’s model, humans maintain intimate, meaningful, sustainable relationships with about five people. These are most likely the people with whom we share a nuclear family unit. The next level of meaningful relationships, the next outer circle, represents our closest friends and is usually composed of about fifteen people. The third concentric circle in the model is composed of about fifty friends and the fourth concentric circle represents about 150 acquaintances. This is the outer extent of our social network in terms of the number of meaningful, sustainable relationships we are cognitively capable of managing. Beyond this cognitive limitation is the genesis and domain of Xenophobia.
In the fifth concentric circle, we have about 500 people whom we may know but who don’t know us. This grouping might include actors, athletes, musicians and various celebrities, politicians and religious figures. We know a good deal about these people but they don’t know anything about us. In the sixth and final concentric circle of our social network there are about 1500 people whom we recognize but don’t know and they also don’t know us. We might see these people walking on the footpath as we drive to work everyday or occasionally on the train on our way to or from work or in the grocery store while shopping. Thus, Dunbar’s model represents the extent of the human social network and, as mentioned, is limited by the cognitive ability of the human prefrontal cortex.
With regards to Xenophobia, we often discuss it within the context of a sociopolitical framework. But the reality, as we see from the above dissertation, is that Xenophobia has its roots in evolutionary biology, specifically with regards to the development and size of the brain and the subsequent limitation of our cognitive capacity. Xenophobia also has its roots in our evolutionary psychology, the emotions and impulses in our Limbic System or Mammalian brain that are activated when we breach the fourth circle in Dunbar’s model. Interestingly though, unlike any other species, the behavior of Homo Sapiens can be further enhanced or shaped by culture. For example, we can readily find individuals from different societies who behave in dramatically differing ways in their nationalist attitudes, dietary practices and religious beliefs and rituals.
Now given that our behavior can be altered through learned cultural practices, particularly when adopted at an early age before our cognitive and rational abilities have matured, we are presented with a fascinating question – if during our formative years, or even post adolescence, we are equipped with Artificial Intelligence on our Smartphone or Smart watch or if we have a neural implant with which we can communicate with the Internet and dedicated AI Agent at high speed, might it be possible that if we have learned to trust this AI we could mitigate our Xenophobia to a modest or even significant degree? Could we potentially expand Dunbar’s model by several orders of magnitude by essentially transferring some of the authority of our Limbic System, our fight or flight impulse, to our AI Agent, thus trusting it to advise us as to whether someone near us or approaching us is safe or not?
With the passage of time, as further and more advanced research and development into Artificial Intelligence becomes available and AI matures from its current, narrow or strictly specialized capacity into Artificial General Intelligence, we may find ourselves in a world in which we have the tools to successfully overcome our hardwired Xenophobic tendencies as characterized in Dunbar’s Rule of 150, at least to some degree.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
Vicar Sayeedi
June 3, 2021
Evolutionary Biology and Evolutionary Psychology are powerful forces. To a large extent they determine the behavior of all species in the Animal Kingdom. Over millions of years, these forces have shaped our behavior thus enabling us to have the best chance to survive as individuals and as a species.
One attribute that has been hardwired into our psychology through these evolutionary processes is Xenophobia. Generally speaking, Xenophobia is a fear of the unfamiliar. This could be a fear of unfamiliar people, places or other creatures and is rooted in our Mammalian brain, our Limbic System, which is home to our emotions and impulses. It causes us to distance and protect ourselves from the unfamiliar and is a critical, built-in defense and survival mechanism.
At a cognitive level, we know that we are limited by our prefrontal cortex in the number of meaningful, sustainable relationships that we can have with other humans. This limit to these types of relationships is approximately 150 and has been confirmed by studying the archeological evidence of ancient, nomadic hunter-gatherer societies as well as by observing nomadic communities still present in the world today. We can also observe this phenomenon in numerous commercial enterprises, military units and many other organizations that operate well when they remain under the limit but rapidly devolve into chaos once the limit is breached.
Robin Dunbar, the Evolutionary Psychologist and Anthropologist at Magdalene College, Oxford University has mapped out the human social network as a series of six concentric circles in a model known as the Rule of 150. In the innermost circle of Dunbar’s model, humans maintain intimate, meaningful, sustainable relationships with about five people. These are most likely the people with whom we share a nuclear family unit. The next level of meaningful relationships, the next outer circle, represents our closest friends and is usually composed of about fifteen people. The third concentric circle in the model is composed of about fifty friends and the fourth concentric circle represents about 150 acquaintances. This is the outer extent of our social network in terms of the number of meaningful, sustainable relationships we are cognitively capable of managing. Beyond this cognitive limitation is the genesis and domain of Xenophobia.
In the fifth concentric circle, we have about 500 people whom we may know but who don’t know us. This grouping might include actors, athletes, musicians and various celebrities, politicians and religious figures. We know a good deal about these people but they don’t know anything about us. In the sixth and final concentric circle of our social network there are about 1500 people whom we recognize but don’t know and they also don’t know us. We might see these people walking on the footpath as we drive to work everyday or occasionally on the train on our way to or from work or in the grocery store while shopping. Thus, Dunbar’s model represents the extent of the human social network and, as mentioned, is limited by the cognitive ability of the human prefrontal cortex.
With regards to Xenophobia, we often discuss it within the context of a sociopolitical framework. But the reality, as we see from the above dissertation, is that Xenophobia has its roots in evolutionary biology, specifically with regards to the development and size of the brain and the subsequent limitation of our cognitive capacity. Xenophobia also has its roots in our evolutionary psychology, the emotions and impulses in our Limbic System or Mammalian brain that are activated when we breach the fourth circle in Dunbar’s model. Interestingly though, unlike any other species, the behavior of Homo Sapiens can be further enhanced or shaped by culture. For example, we can readily find individuals from different societies who behave in dramatically differing ways in their nationalist attitudes, dietary practices and religious beliefs and rituals.
Now given that our behavior can be altered through learned cultural practices, particularly when adopted at an early age before our cognitive and rational abilities have matured, we are presented with a fascinating question – if during our formative years, or even post adolescence, we are equipped with Artificial Intelligence on our Smartphone or Smart watch or if we have a neural implant with which we can communicate with the Internet and dedicated AI Agent at high speed, might it be possible that if we have learned to trust this AI we could mitigate our Xenophobia to a modest or even significant degree? Could we potentially expand Dunbar’s model by several orders of magnitude by essentially transferring some of the authority of our Limbic System, our fight or flight impulse, to our AI Agent, thus trusting it to advise us as to whether someone near us or approaching us is safe or not?
With the passage of time, as further and more advanced research and development into Artificial Intelligence becomes available and AI matures from its current, narrow or strictly specialized capacity into Artificial General Intelligence, we may find ourselves in a world in which we have the tools to successfully overcome our hardwired Xenophobic tendencies as characterized in Dunbar’s Rule of 150, at least to some degree.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Episode 63 - https://youtu.be/a_1AmLJD3lo
AI and Xenophobia | Will We Finally Break the Cycle?
June 1, 2021
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Vicar Sayeedi
June 1, 2021
Artificial Intelligence is an extraordinary technology. Many Thought Leaders expect that with time it will likely emerge as the most consequential invention since the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia some 12,000 years ago. During the 1st Industrial Revolution, for the first time in our history, humankind overcame its limitation on physical strength. With steam and later fossil fuel powered engines we were able to build machines that could transport people and goods across vast distances via automobiles, ships, trains and later, airplanes. But with Artificial Intelligence, we are on our way to overcoming the limitations of human intelligence. AI can process exponentially more data and can do so exponentially faster than humans. It has the ability to retain 100% of what it learns and its decisions are based upon the assessment of comprehensive knowledge.
But as was the case with the technologies of the 1st Industrial Revolution and every Industrial Revolution thereafter, it won’t be long before the technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution are used in a destructive, dystopian manner. In fact, the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in May of 2021, a mission dubbed Operation Guardian of the Walls by the Israeli military, may have been the precursor of what future warfare enabled by Artificial Intelligence might look like. This military engagement was the first time that AI took its place as the central component in the command and control apparatus of the Israel Defense Force.
The voluminous data gathered about Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip over the past two years was thoroughly analyzed by Israeli Artificial Intelligence. Commercially available AI technology was adapted by the Israeli military into an AI Agent that could extract intelligence in preparation for and during this recent military conflict. A series of interdisciplinary AI algorithms code named Alchemist, Gospel and Depth of Wisdom aggregated and processed data gathered from geographic, human, signal and visual means to support IDF military operations in Gaza over the eleven-day period of conflict. During this time, the AI systems recommended hundreds of defensive and offensive strike targets to the IDF.
Post conflict, Israeli military commanders argued that AI enabled intelligence gathering from satellites and other sources helped them shorten the duration of the engagement due to the rapid determination of key targets. Israel’s militarization of commercially available AI enabled the IDF to quickly launch hundreds of strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s rocket launch, manufacturing and storage sites, military intelligence centers, drones, personal residences of military commanders as well as Hamas’s naval commando unit. This resulted in the destruction of most of the naval commando unit’s infrastructure and weapons system including some of their autonomous GPS-guided submarines that are capable of carrying substantial amounts of explosives.
Israel’s advanced Artificial Intelligence capabilities were used by the IDF to process staggering volumes of data that Military Intelligence intercepts and collects from Gaza on a daily basis including telephone calls, text messages, surveillance camera footage, satellite images and a vast array of sensors in order to turn them into actionable intelligence. For example, where might a Hamas commander likely be found at a specific time. To gain a sense of scale of the amount of data being collected and processed by the AI Agents, the IDF said it estimates that during the course of the conflict, any given point in the Gaza Strip was photographed at least ten times each day.
Hamas’s underground tunnel network, known as The Metro by the Israeli military, was also heavily damaged by airstrikes during the course of the conflict. IDF sources say they were able to map the network, consisting of hundreds of kilometers of tunnels deep under residential areas, to a nearly intimate degree. There was little that they did not understand about these networks.
The mapping of The Metro was done using advancements in the use of Big Data to merge all the information into a cohesive and comprehensive understanding from which intelligence could then be extracted. Through this method, the IDF obtained a clear picture of the tunnel network both above and below ground including details such as depth, thickness and the orientation of the routes. Military planners and strategists then used this picture to construct an attack plan for the tunnel assault operation. The IDF acknowledges that the operation did not result in the destruction of the entire network, in fact, perhaps only one third of the tunnel was destroyed, but nevertheless, they believe that the degree of damage sustained is such that the network is no longer usable.
Another AI Agent deployed in the conflict and known by the IDF as The Alchemist alerted troops in the field to possible antitank attacks by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. One IDF officer did die in the conflict but the AI Agent probably saved many more from Palestinian antitank firepower directed at them.
In the end though, the Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 243 Palestinians were killed during the conflict, including 66 children and teens, while 1,910 people were wounded. It was an awful conflict with death and destruction between the two sides rendered incomparable, but the conflict does offer a sense of just how powerful AI already is and its efficacy and potency are likely to only increase with the passage of time.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
Vicar Sayeedi
June 1, 2021
Artificial Intelligence is an extraordinary technology. Many Thought Leaders expect that with time it will likely emerge as the most consequential invention since the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia some 12,000 years ago. During the 1st Industrial Revolution, for the first time in our history, humankind overcame its limitation on physical strength. With steam and later fossil fuel powered engines we were able to build machines that could transport people and goods across vast distances via automobiles, ships, trains and later, airplanes. But with Artificial Intelligence, we are on our way to overcoming the limitations of human intelligence. AI can process exponentially more data and can do so exponentially faster than humans. It has the ability to retain 100% of what it learns and its decisions are based upon the assessment of comprehensive knowledge.
But as was the case with the technologies of the 1st Industrial Revolution and every Industrial Revolution thereafter, it won’t be long before the technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution are used in a destructive, dystopian manner. In fact, the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in May of 2021, a mission dubbed Operation Guardian of the Walls by the Israeli military, may have been the precursor of what future warfare enabled by Artificial Intelligence might look like. This military engagement was the first time that AI took its place as the central component in the command and control apparatus of the Israel Defense Force.
The voluminous data gathered about Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip over the past two years was thoroughly analyzed by Israeli Artificial Intelligence. Commercially available AI technology was adapted by the Israeli military into an AI Agent that could extract intelligence in preparation for and during this recent military conflict. A series of interdisciplinary AI algorithms code named Alchemist, Gospel and Depth of Wisdom aggregated and processed data gathered from geographic, human, signal and visual means to support IDF military operations in Gaza over the eleven-day period of conflict. During this time, the AI systems recommended hundreds of defensive and offensive strike targets to the IDF.
Post conflict, Israeli military commanders argued that AI enabled intelligence gathering from satellites and other sources helped them shorten the duration of the engagement due to the rapid determination of key targets. Israel’s militarization of commercially available AI enabled the IDF to quickly launch hundreds of strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s rocket launch, manufacturing and storage sites, military intelligence centers, drones, personal residences of military commanders as well as Hamas’s naval commando unit. This resulted in the destruction of most of the naval commando unit’s infrastructure and weapons system including some of their autonomous GPS-guided submarines that are capable of carrying substantial amounts of explosives.
Israel’s advanced Artificial Intelligence capabilities were used by the IDF to process staggering volumes of data that Military Intelligence intercepts and collects from Gaza on a daily basis including telephone calls, text messages, surveillance camera footage, satellite images and a vast array of sensors in order to turn them into actionable intelligence. For example, where might a Hamas commander likely be found at a specific time. To gain a sense of scale of the amount of data being collected and processed by the AI Agents, the IDF said it estimates that during the course of the conflict, any given point in the Gaza Strip was photographed at least ten times each day.
Hamas’s underground tunnel network, known as The Metro by the Israeli military, was also heavily damaged by airstrikes during the course of the conflict. IDF sources say they were able to map the network, consisting of hundreds of kilometers of tunnels deep under residential areas, to a nearly intimate degree. There was little that they did not understand about these networks.
The mapping of The Metro was done using advancements in the use of Big Data to merge all the information into a cohesive and comprehensive understanding from which intelligence could then be extracted. Through this method, the IDF obtained a clear picture of the tunnel network both above and below ground including details such as depth, thickness and the orientation of the routes. Military planners and strategists then used this picture to construct an attack plan for the tunnel assault operation. The IDF acknowledges that the operation did not result in the destruction of the entire network, in fact, perhaps only one third of the tunnel was destroyed, but nevertheless, they believe that the degree of damage sustained is such that the network is no longer usable.
Another AI Agent deployed in the conflict and known by the IDF as The Alchemist alerted troops in the field to possible antitank attacks by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. One IDF officer did die in the conflict but the AI Agent probably saved many more from Palestinian antitank firepower directed at them.
In the end though, the Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 243 Palestinians were killed during the conflict, including 66 children and teens, while 1,910 people were wounded. It was an awful conflict with death and destruction between the two sides rendered incomparable, but the conflict does offer a sense of just how powerful AI already is and its efficacy and potency are likely to only increase with the passage of time.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Episode 62 - https://youtu.be/7wmSIWgbuQI
AI on the Battlefield | The Conflict in Gaza
May 28, 2021
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Vicar Sayeedi
May 28, 2021
The sudden and unexpected outbreak of COVID19 in January 2020 left the international medical and scientific community reeling. By February, the virus had begun to spread across borders at an alarming rate and most global health systems in the Developing World were ill equipped to contain such an outbreak of infectious disease if it breeched their borders. Medical staff and healthcare infrastructure were simply incapable of treating large numbers of symptomatic patients, many who would require hospitalization, advanced respiratory and life support and other acute care, while at the same time, the numbers of beds and physicians relative to a rapidly escalating need would be mismatched by orders of magnitude. Pandemic response protocols and health systems in highly advanced countries including the United States appeared to be theoretically well prepared, but once the Pandemic penetrated their borders, the defects in even these well-staffed and well-funded health systems were laid bare as emergency rooms found themselves overwhelmed and struggling to cope with the escalating volume of sick and dying patients.
But even during the darkest and most desperate months of the Pandemic, there have been some important opportunities to learn from the best practices on display in some parts of the world, particularly with regards to testing, tracing, quarantining and vaccinating. These best practices will be studied methodically once the Pandemic has been relegated to the historical record and wisdom dictates that we plan better for the next such outbreak. Ironically, those countries that have done remarkably well containing and managing the COVID19 outbreak have used the latest and best practices in public health and the containment of infectious disease developed in the US and they have also used 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence enabled facial recognition to track infections and trace potential transmissions.
But the behavior of the society and the structure of government also played a crucial role in the health outcomes and mortality of any given society during this Pandemic. Regarding behavior, the Psychologist, Michele Gelfand at the University of Maryland speaks of tight and loose cultures. For example, in East Asia, the culture of the society is tight and so they are much more willing to suspend individual freedoms and liberties once they understand that certain practices are in the best interest of the wider society and will benefit the country as a whole. On the other hand, loose cultures are much less willing to suspend their personal freedoms and liberties for the greater good and are generally suspicious of government agencies advising such practices.
In general then, democracies in East Asia including Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are characterized by societies with tight cultures, whereas America and Western European societies are best characterized by their loose culture: these Western societies are generally unwilling to acquiesce and surrender personal liberties and freedoms in the interest of the public good. This characteristic is most commonly visible in debates surrounding America’s Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights, the amendment that guarantees the right to bear arms. This on-going debate around gun ownership, particularly as it relates to the ownership of military grade assault weapons, has led to deep fractures and polarization in American society, as thousands of citizens perish annually as a consequence of gun violence. Thus, it’s not surprising that each of the aforementioned East Asian democracies did very well overall in containing the COVID19 outbreak, while those in America and Western Europe did not.
But it’s also interesting to note that it was the loose culture in the societies of America and Western Europe, those who are deeply suspicious of any government proposal to surrender personal liberties, which successfully developed five new vaccines just nine months following the genomic sequencing of the Coronavirus. In summary then, Gelfand’s loose versus tight culture observation is a complex and nuanced issue: we observe that there are times when loose culture has an advantage over tight culture and other times when the reverse is true.
With regards to governance, we have observed that democracies with centralized systems of government were able to respond to the Pandemic quickly and effectively whereas those democracies that are decentralized found it very difficult. For example, in the United States there are approximately 9,000 public health agencies at the federal, state and local level. Trying to coordinate these distinct entities in a uniform response is all but impossible. In the case of a public health emergency such as the COVID19 Pandemic, a decentralized system of governance can be catastrophic and lead to untold numbers of unnecessary deaths, and this is precisely what we have experienced in the US. There is no way to rapidly aggregate data from across the country and so many disparate systems, analyze it and respond quickly and methodically.
Artificial Intelligence Agents typically analyze large volumes of health data before they are capable of offering effective and optimal strategies for the containment of infectious disease. But with 9,000 disconnected agencies across the United States, such AI-enabled analysis has proven impossible. On the other hand, a decentralized system of government such as the one in America, a system in which it is, by design, very difficult to govern, a system that has performed quite poorly during the Pandemic, a system with separation of powers between Federal, State, County, City, Town and Village, also makes for a very robust system that is virtually impossible to hijack in a coup d’état. Thus, once again, there are advantages and disadvantages to our decentralized system.
But as we have experienced in America during the Pandemic, the disparate and decentralized nature of our health systems and the lack of a national health service with immediate access to centralized data make it nearly impossible to respond rapidly and effectively due to the inability to administer best in class public health protocols nationally. In China, the centralization of all functions of government, including public health, ensure that data for the entire society is available immediately and comprehensively. This is expected to be a tremendous advantage for the Chinese as they develop Artificial Intelligence Agents capable of analyzing data held in the Electronic Medical Records of 1.4 billion Chinese citizens and garner health and pathology insights that American medical and scientific research teams are unable to due to the lack of centralized data.
Artificial Intelligence Scientists at the University of Exeter in the UK have recently developed an AI Agent that resides on a Smartphone and can determine with 98% accuracy whether a patient has COVID simply by analyzing their cough. It is the analysis of data from a large volume of patients that enables the proficiency of this AI Agent. In the United States then, a key lesson we must learn from this Pandemic is that there is a high cost to certain aspects of our decentralized system of government. In an age of globalization and increasingly frequent and probable pandemics, health systems will need to be centralized if we are to be capable of rapid and effective response. Furthermore, if we are to be able to compete with the Chinese in the Artificial Intelligence based analysis of large volumes of patient data in an effort to gain greater understanding of potential pathologies and the earliest and most efficacious treatments, decentralized health systems will leave our nation in a very vulnerable position.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
Vicar Sayeedi
May 28, 2021
The sudden and unexpected outbreak of COVID19 in January 2020 left the international medical and scientific community reeling. By February, the virus had begun to spread across borders at an alarming rate and most global health systems in the Developing World were ill equipped to contain such an outbreak of infectious disease if it breeched their borders. Medical staff and healthcare infrastructure were simply incapable of treating large numbers of symptomatic patients, many who would require hospitalization, advanced respiratory and life support and other acute care, while at the same time, the numbers of beds and physicians relative to a rapidly escalating need would be mismatched by orders of magnitude. Pandemic response protocols and health systems in highly advanced countries including the United States appeared to be theoretically well prepared, but once the Pandemic penetrated their borders, the defects in even these well-staffed and well-funded health systems were laid bare as emergency rooms found themselves overwhelmed and struggling to cope with the escalating volume of sick and dying patients.
But even during the darkest and most desperate months of the Pandemic, there have been some important opportunities to learn from the best practices on display in some parts of the world, particularly with regards to testing, tracing, quarantining and vaccinating. These best practices will be studied methodically once the Pandemic has been relegated to the historical record and wisdom dictates that we plan better for the next such outbreak. Ironically, those countries that have done remarkably well containing and managing the COVID19 outbreak have used the latest and best practices in public health and the containment of infectious disease developed in the US and they have also used 4th Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence enabled facial recognition to track infections and trace potential transmissions.
But the behavior of the society and the structure of government also played a crucial role in the health outcomes and mortality of any given society during this Pandemic. Regarding behavior, the Psychologist, Michele Gelfand at the University of Maryland speaks of tight and loose cultures. For example, in East Asia, the culture of the society is tight and so they are much more willing to suspend individual freedoms and liberties once they understand that certain practices are in the best interest of the wider society and will benefit the country as a whole. On the other hand, loose cultures are much less willing to suspend their personal freedoms and liberties for the greater good and are generally suspicious of government agencies advising such practices.
In general then, democracies in East Asia including Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are characterized by societies with tight cultures, whereas America and Western European societies are best characterized by their loose culture: these Western societies are generally unwilling to acquiesce and surrender personal liberties and freedoms in the interest of the public good. This characteristic is most commonly visible in debates surrounding America’s Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights, the amendment that guarantees the right to bear arms. This on-going debate around gun ownership, particularly as it relates to the ownership of military grade assault weapons, has led to deep fractures and polarization in American society, as thousands of citizens perish annually as a consequence of gun violence. Thus, it’s not surprising that each of the aforementioned East Asian democracies did very well overall in containing the COVID19 outbreak, while those in America and Western Europe did not.
But it’s also interesting to note that it was the loose culture in the societies of America and Western Europe, those who are deeply suspicious of any government proposal to surrender personal liberties, which successfully developed five new vaccines just nine months following the genomic sequencing of the Coronavirus. In summary then, Gelfand’s loose versus tight culture observation is a complex and nuanced issue: we observe that there are times when loose culture has an advantage over tight culture and other times when the reverse is true.
With regards to governance, we have observed that democracies with centralized systems of government were able to respond to the Pandemic quickly and effectively whereas those democracies that are decentralized found it very difficult. For example, in the United States there are approximately 9,000 public health agencies at the federal, state and local level. Trying to coordinate these distinct entities in a uniform response is all but impossible. In the case of a public health emergency such as the COVID19 Pandemic, a decentralized system of governance can be catastrophic and lead to untold numbers of unnecessary deaths, and this is precisely what we have experienced in the US. There is no way to rapidly aggregate data from across the country and so many disparate systems, analyze it and respond quickly and methodically.
Artificial Intelligence Agents typically analyze large volumes of health data before they are capable of offering effective and optimal strategies for the containment of infectious disease. But with 9,000 disconnected agencies across the United States, such AI-enabled analysis has proven impossible. On the other hand, a decentralized system of government such as the one in America, a system in which it is, by design, very difficult to govern, a system that has performed quite poorly during the Pandemic, a system with separation of powers between Federal, State, County, City, Town and Village, also makes for a very robust system that is virtually impossible to hijack in a coup d’état. Thus, once again, there are advantages and disadvantages to our decentralized system.
But as we have experienced in America during the Pandemic, the disparate and decentralized nature of our health systems and the lack of a national health service with immediate access to centralized data make it nearly impossible to respond rapidly and effectively due to the inability to administer best in class public health protocols nationally. In China, the centralization of all functions of government, including public health, ensure that data for the entire society is available immediately and comprehensively. This is expected to be a tremendous advantage for the Chinese as they develop Artificial Intelligence Agents capable of analyzing data held in the Electronic Medical Records of 1.4 billion Chinese citizens and garner health and pathology insights that American medical and scientific research teams are unable to due to the lack of centralized data.
Artificial Intelligence Scientists at the University of Exeter in the UK have recently developed an AI Agent that resides on a Smartphone and can determine with 98% accuracy whether a patient has COVID simply by analyzing their cough. It is the analysis of data from a large volume of patients that enables the proficiency of this AI Agent. In the United States then, a key lesson we must learn from this Pandemic is that there is a high cost to certain aspects of our decentralized system of government. In an age of globalization and increasingly frequent and probable pandemics, health systems will need to be centralized if we are to be capable of rapid and effective response. Furthermore, if we are to be able to compete with the Chinese in the Artificial Intelligence based analysis of large volumes of patient data in an effort to gain greater understanding of potential pathologies and the earliest and most efficacious treatments, decentralized health systems will leave our nation in a very vulnerable position.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Episode 61 - https://youtu.be/03KysO3VJgI
AI & the Coronavirus | A Postmortem
May 20, 2021
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Vicar Sayeedi
May 20, 2021
Once again, the United States has been struck by a devastating cyber attack. It was only a few months ago that a cyber attack on Solar Winds insidiously penetrated and lodged itself inside this technology company’s scheduled software upgrade. Once uploaded by all eighteen thousand Solar Winds customers around the globe, the malware deployed itself into each of the customer’s networks enabling the hackers to surreptitiously collect confidential information.
This time though, the cyber attack has been of the ransom ware variety. Dark Side, a Russian crime organization, struck the US energy company, Colonial Pipeline in early May. Colonial is a major oil distributor in the Northeast and manages a 5,500 mile-long pipeline stretching from Houston, Texas to New Jersey. Colonial carries three million barrels of fuel per day, about 45% of the East Coast’s total daily requirement. Distressingly, all of the command and control to launch and proliferate malware in this hacking operation was executed using servers based in the United States.
Colonial Pipeline’s CEO, Joseph Blount and his Management Team quickly agreed to pay the $4.4 million ransom demanded by these highly sophisticated hackers, and most fittingly, they paid using the untraceable crypto-currency, Bitcoin. The staggering network security breach left Colonial locked out of their own system and long-term financial damage for the company as a result of this episode is expected to reach into the tens of millions.
Perhaps most alarming is that rogue hacking groups such as Dark Side now have more destructive power at their fingertips than the armed services of many of America’s adversaries. Now, a small number of people, perhaps a dozen or so, possess the capability to inflict a wide variety of dangerous attacks on the infrastructure of the US and its allies. These groups can use their cyber hacking abilities to disable, damage or destroy critical infrastructure including air traffic control systems, mobile and satellite communications networks, electricity grids, hospital and health systems, Internet servers, military command and control systems, sewage and water filtration plants and virtually any other network or system that operates and is controlled using contemporary Internet based technology.
In real time, this new reality is redefining the nature and scope of threats that the US and other Western democracies are now facing. Historically we worried about militarily powerful countries and traditional ideological adversaries such as Russia. More recently we have been concerned about economically and technically proficient countries such as China. But as we go forward, these small but devastatingly effective and worrisome rogue groups of highly competent technologists that have learned to probe and identify the countless vulnerabilities of advanced economies will be a force to contend with. In the Colonial Pipeline case, they have emerged as non-state actors who can effectively exploit vulnerabilities we didn’t realize we had.
Furthermore, once these 21st century state and non-state actors become increasingly proficient in the use of Artificial Intelligence, their ability to identify and exploit the countless vulnerabilities across our economy and country will reach an unprecedented and exponential pace of malice; they will gain the potential to inflict large scale economic and reputational damage to countless private firms and government institutions and this will lead to a feeling of tremendous insecurity and vulnerability within the society. This degradation in national security will be unprecedented in modern times and will lead to many as yet unknown consequences.
In response to these rapidly escalating threats of cyber attacks, the US Administration has issued an Executive Order that will require vendors of software systems to the Federal government to adhere to new, more rigorous cyber security standards. Additionally, new regulations are being developed in an attempt to protect the country’s vast energy sector from cyber attacks similar to the Colonial Pipeline episode. Today, America’s energy sector is operated by a wide variety of private and not-for-profit, state and local entities and there are currently over 3,000 electricity providers and thousands of other firms in the oil and natural gas sector. The US also has some nine thousand public health agencies, each with varying degrees of cyber security defenses to protect the data of their patients. Securing the nation in these and so many other sensitive networks from cyber attacks will be a formidable task and lays bare the challenge posed by 4th Industrial Revolution technologies enabled by advanced computing and AI.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
Vicar Sayeedi
May 20, 2021
Once again, the United States has been struck by a devastating cyber attack. It was only a few months ago that a cyber attack on Solar Winds insidiously penetrated and lodged itself inside this technology company’s scheduled software upgrade. Once uploaded by all eighteen thousand Solar Winds customers around the globe, the malware deployed itself into each of the customer’s networks enabling the hackers to surreptitiously collect confidential information.
This time though, the cyber attack has been of the ransom ware variety. Dark Side, a Russian crime organization, struck the US energy company, Colonial Pipeline in early May. Colonial is a major oil distributor in the Northeast and manages a 5,500 mile-long pipeline stretching from Houston, Texas to New Jersey. Colonial carries three million barrels of fuel per day, about 45% of the East Coast’s total daily requirement. Distressingly, all of the command and control to launch and proliferate malware in this hacking operation was executed using servers based in the United States.
Colonial Pipeline’s CEO, Joseph Blount and his Management Team quickly agreed to pay the $4.4 million ransom demanded by these highly sophisticated hackers, and most fittingly, they paid using the untraceable crypto-currency, Bitcoin. The staggering network security breach left Colonial locked out of their own system and long-term financial damage for the company as a result of this episode is expected to reach into the tens of millions.
Perhaps most alarming is that rogue hacking groups such as Dark Side now have more destructive power at their fingertips than the armed services of many of America’s adversaries. Now, a small number of people, perhaps a dozen or so, possess the capability to inflict a wide variety of dangerous attacks on the infrastructure of the US and its allies. These groups can use their cyber hacking abilities to disable, damage or destroy critical infrastructure including air traffic control systems, mobile and satellite communications networks, electricity grids, hospital and health systems, Internet servers, military command and control systems, sewage and water filtration plants and virtually any other network or system that operates and is controlled using contemporary Internet based technology.
In real time, this new reality is redefining the nature and scope of threats that the US and other Western democracies are now facing. Historically we worried about militarily powerful countries and traditional ideological adversaries such as Russia. More recently we have been concerned about economically and technically proficient countries such as China. But as we go forward, these small but devastatingly effective and worrisome rogue groups of highly competent technologists that have learned to probe and identify the countless vulnerabilities of advanced economies will be a force to contend with. In the Colonial Pipeline case, they have emerged as non-state actors who can effectively exploit vulnerabilities we didn’t realize we had.
Furthermore, once these 21st century state and non-state actors become increasingly proficient in the use of Artificial Intelligence, their ability to identify and exploit the countless vulnerabilities across our economy and country will reach an unprecedented and exponential pace of malice; they will gain the potential to inflict large scale economic and reputational damage to countless private firms and government institutions and this will lead to a feeling of tremendous insecurity and vulnerability within the society. This degradation in national security will be unprecedented in modern times and will lead to many as yet unknown consequences.
In response to these rapidly escalating threats of cyber attacks, the US Administration has issued an Executive Order that will require vendors of software systems to the Federal government to adhere to new, more rigorous cyber security standards. Additionally, new regulations are being developed in an attempt to protect the country’s vast energy sector from cyber attacks similar to the Colonial Pipeline episode. Today, America’s energy sector is operated by a wide variety of private and not-for-profit, state and local entities and there are currently over 3,000 electricity providers and thousands of other firms in the oil and natural gas sector. The US also has some nine thousand public health agencies, each with varying degrees of cyber security defenses to protect the data of their patients. Securing the nation in these and so many other sensitive networks from cyber attacks will be a formidable task and lays bare the challenge posed by 4th Industrial Revolution technologies enabled by advanced computing and AI.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Episode 60 - https://youtu.be/K5wtkj-VTrk
AI & the Colonial Pipeline Attack | Cyber Threats are Growing Rapidly
May 17, 2021
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Vicar Sayeedi
May 17, 2021
As the Coronavirus Pandemic unfolded in early 2020, students at the True Light College, a secondary school for girls in Kowloon, Hong Kong, were required to attend their classes from home. This was a commonplace safety measure introduced by schools in many parts of the world, but unlike most of these other children, the students at True Light were being watched while seated at their desks. An Artificial Intelligence Agent was monitoring and assessing their facial expressions through the cameras embedded in their computers. This Artificial Intelligence Agent is called 4 Little Trees and its designers claim it can read each student’s emotions while they learn. The goal of 4 Little Trees is to help teachers make what has now become ubiquitous distance learning more interactive by responding to an individual student’s reactions as they unfold during the lessons.
4 Little Trees works by measuring micro-movements of the muscles on each girl’s face in an attempt to identify critical emotions including anger, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. The company says the AI Agent can generate comprehensive assessments of each girl’s emotional state for teachers as well as their concentration and motivation. It alerts students and works to restore their attention before they drift too far off track. Vicky Lim, the company founder, is a former teacher and she claims the AI reads a child’s feelings correctly about 85 per cent of the time. 4 Little Trees has become so popular since the pandemic began that the number of schools now using it has increased from 34 to 83.
4 Little Trees uses an algorithm that its designers claim can recognize human emotions and state of mind through the analysis of facial expression, micro-gestures, eye tracking and voice tones. The technology has evolved from facial recognition systems but is considerably more invasive in that it claims to understand how someone is feeling and is also capable of decoding their intentions. It can also predict a student’s personality and it does all of this simply based upon an analysis of facial expressions.
Numerous other companies are working on similar emotion recognition systems in an effort to teach computers how to predict human behavior. American tech giants including Alphabet-Google, Amazon and Microsoft each offer basic emotion analysis, while smaller companies including Affectiva and Hire-Vue are adapting their offerings for the automobile, advertising and recruitment industry sectors.
Disney, for example, is using emotion recognition capabilities to test pilot viewer responses to many films prior to their theatrical release while BMW and Ford have plans to deploy these systems to assess a driver’s state of mind while behind the wheel. In the marketing industry, firms have been using these emotion recognition systems to evaluate audience perceptions of marketing and promotion initiatives for major brands including Coca-Cola and Intel.
But perhaps the most concerning development regarding AI-enabled emotion recognition systems is their increasing prevalence in dystopian applications around the world. Chief amongst these concerns is their use by law enforcement agencies in an effort to identify suspicious individuals. Emotion recognition-enabled cameras, for example, have been installed in Xinjiang in Northwest China where nearly 1.5 million Uighur Muslims are being held in prison camps. Policing experts there have explained that the technology was deployed to rapidly identify potential criminal suspects by monitoring their emotional state.
Although AI emotion recognition technology is being deployed in many disparate applications across numerous industries, its core objective is consistent. Companies and institutions want to make human behavior knowable and predictable at large scale. During the Pandemic the industry has been growing dramatically from just under $20B in 2020 to a projected $37B within five years. Tech companies have been offering their emotion recognition software as a mechanism to observe remote employees and students and are frequently used during remote interviews, as well. It’s rapidly emerging as a technology whose impact is being felt widely.
But as discussed in Podcast #57, most scientists believe there is little to no evidence to show that the technology works as advertised. In fact, current research indicates that although AI-enabled emotion recognition applications might be able to decode facial expressions, this does not consistently translate into what a person is feeling, thinking or what they might do next. The scientific evidence suggests that emotions are expressed in a large number of complex and nuanced ways and this makes it very difficult to reliably infer how someone is feeling from a small, simplistic collection of facial movements. The consensus within the scientific community is that it’s just not possible to infer happiness from a person’s smile, or anger from their scowl, or sadness if they’re frowning, yet this is what the current emotion recognition technology is attempting to do while telling clients that these systems are based upon scientifically conclusive facts.
The scientific facts that underpin emotion recognition software are largely the work of the American psychologist, Paul Ekman who, in the 1960s, travelled to Papua New Guinea to perform a series of experiments in an attempt to validate his hypothesis that all humans, regardless of their circumstance, culture, gender or geography exhibited a uniform set of six universal emotions: anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise. This research and its claims have been used by a number of companies to train machines in the language of human emotion. Ekman, now elderly and retired, still defends his research. However, he claims conclusions from his research are being misused by companies in their attempt to build commercially profitable businesses and products.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
Vicar Sayeedi
May 17, 2021
As the Coronavirus Pandemic unfolded in early 2020, students at the True Light College, a secondary school for girls in Kowloon, Hong Kong, were required to attend their classes from home. This was a commonplace safety measure introduced by schools in many parts of the world, but unlike most of these other children, the students at True Light were being watched while seated at their desks. An Artificial Intelligence Agent was monitoring and assessing their facial expressions through the cameras embedded in their computers. This Artificial Intelligence Agent is called 4 Little Trees and its designers claim it can read each student’s emotions while they learn. The goal of 4 Little Trees is to help teachers make what has now become ubiquitous distance learning more interactive by responding to an individual student’s reactions as they unfold during the lessons.
4 Little Trees works by measuring micro-movements of the muscles on each girl’s face in an attempt to identify critical emotions including anger, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. The company says the AI Agent can generate comprehensive assessments of each girl’s emotional state for teachers as well as their concentration and motivation. It alerts students and works to restore their attention before they drift too far off track. Vicky Lim, the company founder, is a former teacher and she claims the AI reads a child’s feelings correctly about 85 per cent of the time. 4 Little Trees has become so popular since the pandemic began that the number of schools now using it has increased from 34 to 83.
4 Little Trees uses an algorithm that its designers claim can recognize human emotions and state of mind through the analysis of facial expression, micro-gestures, eye tracking and voice tones. The technology has evolved from facial recognition systems but is considerably more invasive in that it claims to understand how someone is feeling and is also capable of decoding their intentions. It can also predict a student’s personality and it does all of this simply based upon an analysis of facial expressions.
Numerous other companies are working on similar emotion recognition systems in an effort to teach computers how to predict human behavior. American tech giants including Alphabet-Google, Amazon and Microsoft each offer basic emotion analysis, while smaller companies including Affectiva and Hire-Vue are adapting their offerings for the automobile, advertising and recruitment industry sectors.
Disney, for example, is using emotion recognition capabilities to test pilot viewer responses to many films prior to their theatrical release while BMW and Ford have plans to deploy these systems to assess a driver’s state of mind while behind the wheel. In the marketing industry, firms have been using these emotion recognition systems to evaluate audience perceptions of marketing and promotion initiatives for major brands including Coca-Cola and Intel.
But perhaps the most concerning development regarding AI-enabled emotion recognition systems is their increasing prevalence in dystopian applications around the world. Chief amongst these concerns is their use by law enforcement agencies in an effort to identify suspicious individuals. Emotion recognition-enabled cameras, for example, have been installed in Xinjiang in Northwest China where nearly 1.5 million Uighur Muslims are being held in prison camps. Policing experts there have explained that the technology was deployed to rapidly identify potential criminal suspects by monitoring their emotional state.
Although AI emotion recognition technology is being deployed in many disparate applications across numerous industries, its core objective is consistent. Companies and institutions want to make human behavior knowable and predictable at large scale. During the Pandemic the industry has been growing dramatically from just under $20B in 2020 to a projected $37B within five years. Tech companies have been offering their emotion recognition software as a mechanism to observe remote employees and students and are frequently used during remote interviews, as well. It’s rapidly emerging as a technology whose impact is being felt widely.
But as discussed in Podcast #57, most scientists believe there is little to no evidence to show that the technology works as advertised. In fact, current research indicates that although AI-enabled emotion recognition applications might be able to decode facial expressions, this does not consistently translate into what a person is feeling, thinking or what they might do next. The scientific evidence suggests that emotions are expressed in a large number of complex and nuanced ways and this makes it very difficult to reliably infer how someone is feeling from a small, simplistic collection of facial movements. The consensus within the scientific community is that it’s just not possible to infer happiness from a person’s smile, or anger from their scowl, or sadness if they’re frowning, yet this is what the current emotion recognition technology is attempting to do while telling clients that these systems are based upon scientifically conclusive facts.
The scientific facts that underpin emotion recognition software are largely the work of the American psychologist, Paul Ekman who, in the 1960s, travelled to Papua New Guinea to perform a series of experiments in an attempt to validate his hypothesis that all humans, regardless of their circumstance, culture, gender or geography exhibited a uniform set of six universal emotions: anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness and surprise. This research and its claims have been used by a number of companies to train machines in the language of human emotion. Ekman, now elderly and retired, still defends his research. However, he claims conclusions from his research are being misused by companies in their attempt to build commercially profitable businesses and products.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Episode 59 - https://youtu.be/EMbqpN5mbqw
AI & the 4 Little Trees | More on Emotion Recognition
May 5, 2021
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Vicar Sayeedi
May 6, 2021
What is the future of Artificial Intelligence enabled autonomous vehicles? For some years now, tech entrepreneurs have offered the exciting prospect of a world in which self-driving taxis buzz about town at our beck and call. A few years ago, the president of Lyft, the ride hailing application, described a fantastic vision of what a future with autonomous vehicles and taxis might look like. John Zimmer predicted that vehicle ownership would decline dramatically as people would prefer to hail autonomous taxis and pay for them via various schemes tailored to their needs and usage patterns.
Even today, the idea of autonomous vehicles remains quite exciting: imagine future urban settings without large areas set aside for temporary vehicle storage including unsightly parking lots and vertical garages. Imagine these eyesores now replaced with wonderful public facilities including gardens, playgrounds, scenic parks and walking paths. Imagine your favorite metro area without the menace of inebriated drivers harming themselves and others or crazy teens creating chaos on the streets. It was an exciting idea that was expected to be a reality by 2021.
Zimmer’s vision promised to transform society not to mention the safety of transport. So what happened? What went wrong? In the final analysis, will realizing Zimmer and other tech entrepreneurs’ vision of autonomous vehicles turn out to be nothing more than a costly fantasy? And when considering the numerous other challenges humankind now faces, shouldn’t we be investing in a very different vision for transport anyway?
It seems the notion of AI-enabled autonomous vehicles may not be quite the solution we need given current realities. So with the arrival of 2021, Lyft has now sold its autonomous vehicle division to Toyota for a mere $550 million. Meanwhile, Google’s autonomous vehicle division, Waymo, has recently appointed new leaders and in the end of 2020, Uber sold its self-driving division, as well. More ominously, in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla, the most outspoken voice in the autonomous vehicle sector, acknowledged that they might never realize their vision of fully autonomous vehicles.
Across the autonomous vehicle industry, the technology is proving to be incredibly hard to realize while simultaneously consuming billions of dollars of investment in research and development as well as engineering effort and time. These are critically important financial and engineering resources needed in many other places within society. Additionally, the public policy infrastructure needed to support these vehicles – issues including state investment in highways and local roads, as well as in necessary regulatory oversight of the industry and the technology – has not kept pace. Complex legal matters regarding liability in the case of accidents as well as limitations of Artificial Intelligence due to the quality and breadth of data used to train these systems have also proven problematic.
Climate Scientists have warned us that we are collectively emitting 51 billion tons of CO2 gases into the atmosphere every year and this needs to be reduced to zero by 2050 if we are to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change in tropical and temperate zones on Earth. Manufacturing, electricity generation, agriculture and transportation collectively account for 93% of these emissions with the remaining 7% attributed to the heating and cooling of residential and commercial buildings. Given the complex geopolitical, scientific and technological challenges involved in effectively confronting the climate issue, public intellectuals are beginning to conclude that humankind might be better served by investment in urban development and transportation policies that directly address this broader climate goal rather than a technically superior autonomous vehicle vision that does little to support the more pressing objective.
With so much research in the autonomous vehicle sector we are beginning to realize that ubiquitous autonomous vehicles may not be possible as initially conceived. Perhaps for them to succeed more broadly we may need to reconfigure the entire transportation network of roads and highways with a system that is purpose built for autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, it may be the case that human drivers and autonomous vehicles simply cannot coexist within the same transportation network.
Although private test tracks can host autonomous vehicles and although these vehicles may perform effectively in such environments or in carefully planned commercial zones in some metro areas, these vehicles seem to be incapable of tackling critical edge situations or unpredictable scenarios such as a deer suddenly crossing the road, an overturned ambulance on fire, a pedestrian crossing somewhere other than in a designated zone or other unique scenarios that humans can encounter and easily contend with. Human drivers encounter these unique situations frequently, however, we are unable to predict how an AI agent might behave or react in similar unpredictable situations that were not present in the dataset on which the Agent was trained.
To be sure, the vision of self-driving cars has not been abandoned. In fact, Alphabet’s Waymo recently raised over $3 billion in additional funding so interest in autonomous vehicles remains high. But Waymo’s recent activities suggest that the path forward for these self-driving vehicles remains fraught with numerous regulatory and technical challenges that will take far longer to resolve than previously estimated. Given this reality, perhaps we ought to invest in solutions that are known to work better with minimal investment, solutions including energy efficient buses, trains and other public transport. They are known quantities that can be strengthened and made more accessible with a fraction of the financial and engineering resources that have been poured into autonomous vehicle research.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
Vicar Sayeedi
May 6, 2021
What is the future of Artificial Intelligence enabled autonomous vehicles? For some years now, tech entrepreneurs have offered the exciting prospect of a world in which self-driving taxis buzz about town at our beck and call. A few years ago, the president of Lyft, the ride hailing application, described a fantastic vision of what a future with autonomous vehicles and taxis might look like. John Zimmer predicted that vehicle ownership would decline dramatically as people would prefer to hail autonomous taxis and pay for them via various schemes tailored to their needs and usage patterns.
Even today, the idea of autonomous vehicles remains quite exciting: imagine future urban settings without large areas set aside for temporary vehicle storage including unsightly parking lots and vertical garages. Imagine these eyesores now replaced with wonderful public facilities including gardens, playgrounds, scenic parks and walking paths. Imagine your favorite metro area without the menace of inebriated drivers harming themselves and others or crazy teens creating chaos on the streets. It was an exciting idea that was expected to be a reality by 2021.
Zimmer’s vision promised to transform society not to mention the safety of transport. So what happened? What went wrong? In the final analysis, will realizing Zimmer and other tech entrepreneurs’ vision of autonomous vehicles turn out to be nothing more than a costly fantasy? And when considering the numerous other challenges humankind now faces, shouldn’t we be investing in a very different vision for transport anyway?
It seems the notion of AI-enabled autonomous vehicles may not be quite the solution we need given current realities. So with the arrival of 2021, Lyft has now sold its autonomous vehicle division to Toyota for a mere $550 million. Meanwhile, Google’s autonomous vehicle division, Waymo, has recently appointed new leaders and in the end of 2020, Uber sold its self-driving division, as well. More ominously, in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla, the most outspoken voice in the autonomous vehicle sector, acknowledged that they might never realize their vision of fully autonomous vehicles.
Across the autonomous vehicle industry, the technology is proving to be incredibly hard to realize while simultaneously consuming billions of dollars of investment in research and development as well as engineering effort and time. These are critically important financial and engineering resources needed in many other places within society. Additionally, the public policy infrastructure needed to support these vehicles – issues including state investment in highways and local roads, as well as in necessary regulatory oversight of the industry and the technology – has not kept pace. Complex legal matters regarding liability in the case of accidents as well as limitations of Artificial Intelligence due to the quality and breadth of data used to train these systems have also proven problematic.
Climate Scientists have warned us that we are collectively emitting 51 billion tons of CO2 gases into the atmosphere every year and this needs to be reduced to zero by 2050 if we are to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change in tropical and temperate zones on Earth. Manufacturing, electricity generation, agriculture and transportation collectively account for 93% of these emissions with the remaining 7% attributed to the heating and cooling of residential and commercial buildings. Given the complex geopolitical, scientific and technological challenges involved in effectively confronting the climate issue, public intellectuals are beginning to conclude that humankind might be better served by investment in urban development and transportation policies that directly address this broader climate goal rather than a technically superior autonomous vehicle vision that does little to support the more pressing objective.
With so much research in the autonomous vehicle sector we are beginning to realize that ubiquitous autonomous vehicles may not be possible as initially conceived. Perhaps for them to succeed more broadly we may need to reconfigure the entire transportation network of roads and highways with a system that is purpose built for autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, it may be the case that human drivers and autonomous vehicles simply cannot coexist within the same transportation network.
Although private test tracks can host autonomous vehicles and although these vehicles may perform effectively in such environments or in carefully planned commercial zones in some metro areas, these vehicles seem to be incapable of tackling critical edge situations or unpredictable scenarios such as a deer suddenly crossing the road, an overturned ambulance on fire, a pedestrian crossing somewhere other than in a designated zone or other unique scenarios that humans can encounter and easily contend with. Human drivers encounter these unique situations frequently, however, we are unable to predict how an AI agent might behave or react in similar unpredictable situations that were not present in the dataset on which the Agent was trained.
To be sure, the vision of self-driving cars has not been abandoned. In fact, Alphabet’s Waymo recently raised over $3 billion in additional funding so interest in autonomous vehicles remains high. But Waymo’s recent activities suggest that the path forward for these self-driving vehicles remains fraught with numerous regulatory and technical challenges that will take far longer to resolve than previously estimated. Given this reality, perhaps we ought to invest in solutions that are known to work better with minimal investment, solutions including energy efficient buses, trains and other public transport. They are known quantities that can be strengthened and made more accessible with a fraction of the financial and engineering resources that have been poured into autonomous vehicle research.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Episode 58 - https://youtu.be/rdXllGj8rbo
AI & Autonomous Vehicles | Where are We Now?
April 29, 2021
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Vicar Sayeedi
April 29, 2021
Given the alarming proliferation of Facial and Emotion Recognition Artificial Intelligence Agents across the world, the scientific community has issued a blunt warning that AI is actually misreading human emotion. The scientists are stating quite emphatically that there simply isn’t any convincing, credible evidence that our facial expressions or micro expressions reveal our true feelings. But this hasn’t stopped the largest technology companies from charging ahead with the development of these systems and selling them widely for various applications.
The Emotion Recognition technology underlying these systems is based upon a highly controversial hypothesis: a belief that all humans exhibit a small number of universal emotions – known as affects – that are innate to our species and are uniform across society and the world. For more than half a century, this claim has remained contentious amongst scholars of anthropology, psychology and technology. But despite the widely disputed scientific underpinnings, AI-enabled Emotion Recognition has emerged as a rapidly growing market and is expected to generate nearly $56 billion in sales by 2024.
Today, AI-enabled Emotion Recognition technology can be found embedded within educational institutions, employment screening processes, law enforcement systems that predict potential for violence as well as in national-security systems deployed at major transportation hubs. But the underlying principle upon which this technology is based – the claim that an individual’s emotional state can be gauged simply by analyzing their facial expressions – remains unsubstantiated. In fact, a recent comprehensive scholarly review of the available scientific literature on the subject concluded that there is no reliable evidence that these systems can accurately predict a person’s emotional state.
As previously mentioned, Big Tech continues to develop these AI-enabled systems and their customers continue to deploy them. Emotion Recognition systems are now recognized by many government authorities as an essential tool in state security and as very lucrative by their designers. These Big Tech firms have accumulated staggering volumes of images of people’s faces and expressions by scraping social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and many others, and as is the case with Facial Recognition technology, Emotion Recognition capabilities have also been integrated into these platforms.
As mentioned above, AI enabled Emotion Recognition systems are now in use in various industrial contexts as well as in state security functions. For example, the company, HireVue has many blue chip corporations as clients for its AI Agent, an Emotion Recognition system that claims to assess a candidate’s suitability for a job. In 2014, HireVue unveiled its AI system that purportedly collected facial micro-expressions, tone of voice and other key attributes from videos of candidates during job interviews, which it then used to compare against the attributes of a particular company’s best performing staff. HireVue and its technology have faced a great deal of criticism from many quarters including from academics and civil-rights activists so earlier this year they agreed to discontinue the use of their Emotion Recognition technology. However, the company has retained their vocal tone analysis capability as a candidate assessment tool.
Five years ago, Apple acquired their own Emotion Recognition firm, a start-up called Emotient that also claims to have developed an AI-enabled system that is capable of detecting emotions from images of faces. But the largest designer of these Emotion Recognition systems may be Affectiva, a company based in Boston that emerged from academic research performed at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Affectiva has now implemented several AI-enabled Emotion Recognition applications using deep-learning neural networks. Affectiva now claims its systems can accurately identify distracted or at risk drivers on roads and highways and can also measure people’s emotional response to various advertisements. Affectiva is also believed to have assembled the world’s largest database of human facial expressions, a system that now contains more than ten million entries from nearly ninety countries.
Big Tech firms including Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are also active in designing AI-enabled Emotion Recognition systems. Microsoft’s Face application claims to be able to identify key emotions including anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. Amazon’s offering, Rekognition, also claims that it can identify each of these seven key emotions. Each of these AI-enabled Emotion Recognition systems is based upon several common principles: first, that there are a small number of distinct and universal emotional categories; second, that people unwittingly reveal these emotions on their faces; and third, that these emotions can be accurately detected by AI. Within the firms involved in Emotion Detection, these principles are widely accepted as fact and no one questions them.
But this uniform approach to Emotion Detection remains deeply problematic because human emotions are complicated. They continue to evolve and change in response to culture and history. But today, applicants at companies appearing for job interviews are being judged because their facial expressions or vocal tones don’t match those of current top performing employees. Students are taken aside in schools because their faces appear to be angry, and shop customers are being questioned because their facial micro expressions indicate they may be up to no good. These are the people who will bear the burden of Emotion Detection systems based upon questionable science and technology. In summary, regulatory agencies around the world will need to step up to protect the society quickly before these Emotion Detection systems result in further harm to society.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
Vicar Sayeedi
April 29, 2021
Given the alarming proliferation of Facial and Emotion Recognition Artificial Intelligence Agents across the world, the scientific community has issued a blunt warning that AI is actually misreading human emotion. The scientists are stating quite emphatically that there simply isn’t any convincing, credible evidence that our facial expressions or micro expressions reveal our true feelings. But this hasn’t stopped the largest technology companies from charging ahead with the development of these systems and selling them widely for various applications.
The Emotion Recognition technology underlying these systems is based upon a highly controversial hypothesis: a belief that all humans exhibit a small number of universal emotions – known as affects – that are innate to our species and are uniform across society and the world. For more than half a century, this claim has remained contentious amongst scholars of anthropology, psychology and technology. But despite the widely disputed scientific underpinnings, AI-enabled Emotion Recognition has emerged as a rapidly growing market and is expected to generate nearly $56 billion in sales by 2024.
Today, AI-enabled Emotion Recognition technology can be found embedded within educational institutions, employment screening processes, law enforcement systems that predict potential for violence as well as in national-security systems deployed at major transportation hubs. But the underlying principle upon which this technology is based – the claim that an individual’s emotional state can be gauged simply by analyzing their facial expressions – remains unsubstantiated. In fact, a recent comprehensive scholarly review of the available scientific literature on the subject concluded that there is no reliable evidence that these systems can accurately predict a person’s emotional state.
As previously mentioned, Big Tech continues to develop these AI-enabled systems and their customers continue to deploy them. Emotion Recognition systems are now recognized by many government authorities as an essential tool in state security and as very lucrative by their designers. These Big Tech firms have accumulated staggering volumes of images of people’s faces and expressions by scraping social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and many others, and as is the case with Facial Recognition technology, Emotion Recognition capabilities have also been integrated into these platforms.
As mentioned above, AI enabled Emotion Recognition systems are now in use in various industrial contexts as well as in state security functions. For example, the company, HireVue has many blue chip corporations as clients for its AI Agent, an Emotion Recognition system that claims to assess a candidate’s suitability for a job. In 2014, HireVue unveiled its AI system that purportedly collected facial micro-expressions, tone of voice and other key attributes from videos of candidates during job interviews, which it then used to compare against the attributes of a particular company’s best performing staff. HireVue and its technology have faced a great deal of criticism from many quarters including from academics and civil-rights activists so earlier this year they agreed to discontinue the use of their Emotion Recognition technology. However, the company has retained their vocal tone analysis capability as a candidate assessment tool.
Five years ago, Apple acquired their own Emotion Recognition firm, a start-up called Emotient that also claims to have developed an AI-enabled system that is capable of detecting emotions from images of faces. But the largest designer of these Emotion Recognition systems may be Affectiva, a company based in Boston that emerged from academic research performed at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Affectiva has now implemented several AI-enabled Emotion Recognition applications using deep-learning neural networks. Affectiva now claims its systems can accurately identify distracted or at risk drivers on roads and highways and can also measure people’s emotional response to various advertisements. Affectiva is also believed to have assembled the world’s largest database of human facial expressions, a system that now contains more than ten million entries from nearly ninety countries.
Big Tech firms including Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are also active in designing AI-enabled Emotion Recognition systems. Microsoft’s Face application claims to be able to identify key emotions including anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. Amazon’s offering, Rekognition, also claims that it can identify each of these seven key emotions. Each of these AI-enabled Emotion Recognition systems is based upon several common principles: first, that there are a small number of distinct and universal emotional categories; second, that people unwittingly reveal these emotions on their faces; and third, that these emotions can be accurately detected by AI. Within the firms involved in Emotion Detection, these principles are widely accepted as fact and no one questions them.
But this uniform approach to Emotion Detection remains deeply problematic because human emotions are complicated. They continue to evolve and change in response to culture and history. But today, applicants at companies appearing for job interviews are being judged because their facial expressions or vocal tones don’t match those of current top performing employees. Students are taken aside in schools because their faces appear to be angry, and shop customers are being questioned because their facial micro expressions indicate they may be up to no good. These are the people who will bear the burden of Emotion Detection systems based upon questionable science and technology. In summary, regulatory agencies around the world will need to step up to protect the society quickly before these Emotion Detection systems result in further harm to society.
Vicar Sayeedi is a Computer Scientist and Engineer, a Lecturer and a Consultant. Vicar is also the author of several books. His most recent book is about Artificial Intelligence and is titled, The Génome Affair.
Vicar is most interested in the big questions facing humankind. He is particularly focused on studying at the confluence of the five great disciplines of Human History, Political Science and Thought, International Affairs, Science and Technology. This intersection offers a deep understanding and pedagogically important lessons of how advances in human endeavor have influenced and impacted civilization.
Vicar has been writing books, essays and poetry for many years. For the past 30 years, Vicar has worked in the Technology and Pharmaceutical industries. He is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Industry and lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and their three grown children [if they decide to visit during the holidays!]
You can find Vicar’s recent book on AI, The Génome Affair on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQ7M9Q7
The most recent episodes of Vicar’s ai & u! Podcast are on YouTube at the following links:
Episode 1 - https://youtu.be/yNYr28jtY_k
What is Artificial Intelligence? What is Human Intelligence?
Episode 2 - https://youtu.be/kAEgDNh1Nwc
How Did We Get Here? Machine Learning, Neural Networks & the AI Lexicon, Exciting AI Agents
Episode 3 - https://youtu.be/3PYCyv1pCgM
Deep Mind - How Powerful is Narrow AI? State Surveillance and Surveillance Capitalism
Episode 4 - https://youtu.be/WvobCMIM_H4
Impact on Societies That Possess Artificial Intelligence Versus Those that Do Not!
Episode 5 - https://youtu.be/4JVpvm4g79g
Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance State, 4th Industrial Revolution, Bifurcation of Sapiens
Episode 6 - https://youtu.be/e1q2GgcWQok
AI, Blockchain & Quantum Computing - Implications for Global and National Governance
Episode 7 - https://youtu.be/4bDSUvrOdd4
Popular Perceptions of Intelligence, the Seat of Human Intelligence and Implications for AI
Episode 8 - https://youtu.be/3GjHqQZL7Pk
AI - Why Should I care? Plus Exciting Updates from Elon Musk and Neuralink!
Episode 9 - https://youtu.be/enpecqDecC8
AI - Excellence, Innovation & Genius
Episode 10 - https://youtu.be/UsriESlTjdA
Implications for AI as China and the West Decouple
Episode 11 - https://youtu.be/0CpaMb-yw3g
Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Law & Society
Episode 12 - https://youtu.be/PLzodrLWMq0
AI & Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
Episode 13 - https://youtu.be/Lm_nrNyJRbA
AI & the Future of Work in Industry 4.0 – the 4th Industrial Revolution
Episode 14 - https://youtu.be/_3E1Mhr_Dt8
Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Authoritarianism and Democracy
Episode 15 - https://youtu.be/IpMUqHOEd7w
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness & the Future of Homo Sapiens
Episode 16 - https://youtu.be/mIf7_VMzGKo
AI and its Implications for America's Political Environment
Episode 17 - https://youtu.be/gsMRPnovZGI
Special Episode: Reading From The Génome Affair
Episode 18 - https://youtu.be/UxNxtWDCREM
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Tyranny, Datocracy and the Imitation Game
Episode 19 - https://youtu.be/Db8U0QQWWuY
Does Artificial Intelligence Really Replicate Human Intelligence?
Episode 20 - https://youtu.be/Np18AEq-6DM
AI & Rising Geopolitical Tensions Between China & The West
Episode 21 - https://youtu.be/fOMSvNiixA0
AI & In-vitro Fertilization [IVF]
Episode 22 - https://youtu.be/EQPpRhIV6Kw
AI & Human Intelligence: A Complex Relationship
Episode 23 - https://youtu.be/EAbQ7stY7JQ
AI Upends the World of Structural Biology
Episode 24 - https://youtu.be/Bsb1F8uoBpA
AI & COVID-19: An Extraordinary Contribution
Episode 25 - https://youtu.be/PqL5PCRc8tA
AI, Connectomics & Transhumanism: the Future of Humankind
Episode 26 - https://youtu.be/HI8Zjl8VM8U
Dramatic Upheaval Inside Google's Ethical AI Team
Episode 27 - https://youtu.be/TqWwJYc2GxQ
AI & Cyber Espionage | How Will the Sunburst Attack Affect Our Security?
Episode 28 - https://youtu.be/89BcThqgcfQ
AI & the Rapidly Escalating Threat from Deep Fake Videos
Episode 29 - https://youtu.be/zvOHRMmJNB4
AI, Facial Recognition Technology & The Digital Surveillance State
Episode 30 - https://youtu.be/br4ygfEWdk0
AI & Social Media | The Most Destructive AI We've Ever Seen?
Episode 31 - https://youtu.be/sOy12ii8zwM
The Democratization of AI & The 2021 Maiflower Expedition | Plymouth, England to Plymouth, MA
Episode 32 - https://youtu.be/bixdLL74reE
Sino-American Cold War | A Blessing in Disguise for America?
Episode 33 - https://youtu.be/tTRm312DgMc
AI & the Tyranny of Meritocracy
Episode 34 - https://youtu.be/FpPzC5VP6GM
In the Midst of Chaos and Pandemic | A Big AI Announcement From the Trump Administration
Episode 35 - https://youtu.be/bK3xCBwrG8w
Artificial Super Intelligence – Can We Control It?
Episode 36 - https://youtu.be/Rc60DQ0L86Q
A New America | Hope with a Big Dose of Caution
Episode 37 - https://youtu.be/UBenYYHbYqM
Will AI [Science & Tech] Benefit From a New Cold War with China?
Episode 38 - https://youtu.be/JewJnPywnOU
Will AI Eventually Replace All Other Forms of Government?
Episode 39 - https://youtu.be/ibuJ8vozyqg
Will AI Perpetuate Bias in Employment, Health Systems, Law and Society?
Episode 40 - https://youtu.be/IJYbPfGC-08
AI | Will it be the Bain of Cyber Criminals?
Episode 41 - https://youtu.be/ozrO5_XTYKQ
AI | What Will it Mean for the Future of Work?
Episode 42 - https://youtu.be/kDKapDK-Vb0
AI | A Harbinger for the End of Democracy?
Episode 43 - https://youtu.be/7XeNyE8CA9I
AI & the Life Sciences | Developments in Connectomics & Radiology
Episode 44 - https://youtu.be/mWaPW_UolVo
AI & Geopolitics | Critical Strategic Planning in the Age of China
Episode 45 - https://youtu.be/qOSOc3vJRBk
AI & Humankind | What Might the Future Hold?
Episode 46 - https://youtu.be/atMSV1WAFkg
AI Enabled Surveillance | An Important Tool to Contain Dangerous Personality Traits?
Episode 47 - https://youtu.be/kz7-EDmlGXc
Will AI Favor Authoritarianism or Democracy?
Episode 48 - https://youtu.be/uTvKWQgdOaI
AI | A Key Enabler of Universal Basic Income?
Episode 49 - https://youtu.be/sy48Xqo-3qM
AI & The Future of Government, Industry, Markets &Trade
Episode 50 - https://youtu.be/JU1oGzb5TS0
AI & Surveillance | America’s New Strategy in the Middle East
Episode 51 - https://youtu.be/nOCQjUxLWJY
AI-Enabled Global Government | An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
Episode 52 - https://youtu.be/g1VJqiI3HyE
AI & Healthcare | What Will the Future Look Like? Will it be More Equitable?
Episode 53 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Surveillance | The Ethical Dilemma of Facial Recognition Software
Episode 54 - https://youtu.be/ie9KAg_kF7Q
AI & Regulation | Europe is Leading the Way
Episode 55 - https://youtu.be/l-gcYTZMsm8
AI & Consciousness | Will Machines Soon be Sentient?
Episode 56 - https://youtu.be/-8BaouCn9cs
AI & Regulation | Europe Announces New Rules
Episode 57 - https://youtu.be/243zm7aHImQ
AI & Human Emotion Recognition | Is it Inherently Flawed?
