Artificial intelligence has been a major topic of discussion for many years. The different things that we can do now that we are discovering new paths in AI is outstanding, whether it is the self-driving cars, robots being made that can do household chores, or simply making a AI learn how to play Mario and beat a level. The Stanford 100 Year Study on AI was a very dense and interesting read, opening up lots of areas of discussion regarding artificial intelligence. There were a few areas that the journal touched upon that really interested me. The first was when the authors stated that with self driving cars coming into existence, people will live farther away from home and own fewer cars. The second was regarding the robots that could potentially teach kids, and even adults, how to code various programs. And the third was regarding the fact that robots could potentially cause harm in the future, as shown in a variety of movies.

In a variety of TV shows and movies in the past, writers have often created societies where there is such a thing as self driving cars. Now jumping forward to the present, these cars are actually starting to become a thing, thanks to artificial intelligence. On page 19 of the journal, the authors state, As cars will become better drivers than people, city-dwellers will own fewer cars, live further from work, and spend time differently, leading to an entirely new urban organization. Though this statement may be somewhat true, I believe that there are still some factors to look at besides cars becoming better drivers than people. For one, people tend to actually like to drive, meaning that having self driving cars may still not deter these people from actually buying cars for themselves. People also may not have the money to ride in self driving cars, as companies will most likely try to profit off these inventions and charge the passenger money on a daily basis or annual basis. This could mean its actually cheaper to buy your own car instead.

I found it really cool that robots could potentially teach kids how to code various programs. But even though that would be a really interesting idea, I would think that having human to human interaction would actually still be better for the student. Having a teacher that you can relate to and get close to would most likely help the student get better grades and feel more at home. Robots would most likely still lack the personal touch, no matter how advanced they get. The journal also stated that these robot teachers could help those who cannot go to school, but I am struggling to understand how people who cannot afford to go to school would be able to afford these robots services, as companies would likely try to profit off these machines as well.

And lastly, a hundred years ago, humans would have never thought the technology we have today would exist. Smart phones, gaming devices, self driving cars, all of these were fantasy. Now that we have these things, its wild to think about what we could have as a society in regards to technology a hundred years from now. So when the journal talked about evil robots not being capable of existing, I wouldnt quite go that far. I just feel like you never know what could happen in the future, or what groundbreaking invention could even get out into the public next week. Its still important to make sure artificial intelligence is properly monitored so it doesnt cause more harm than good. But AI is still an amazing topic which should be explored in many directions into the future, which makes me excited to be taking CS540.
		Rayyaan Usmani
		CS540 Fall 2017
		09/09/2017


