The Stanford study on Artificial Intelligence provides an illuminating look into a field that is going to transform life as we know it. For millennia, humanity has relied on their own ingenuity and skill to advance the well-being of the species. In the last 60 years, however, technological advancements have pushed us to a tipping point where many of our problems can be solved by computers acting independently. The ability to program computers to simulate the biology of the brain is one of the greatest achievements that our species has ever made. With this power, computers will surely have the ability to perform many of the tasks that humanity can perform with even greater efficiency and speed.

Overall, the report does a great job exploring and outlining the future of AI as it pertains to our daily lives. It hits on the eight major sectors that AI will affect in the next 15 years: Transportation, Home/Service Robots, Healthcare, Education, Low-Resource Communities, Public Safety and Security, Employment and Workplace, and Entertainment. These categories are pretty comprehensive and encompass most of everyday life that will be impacted by AI. The one sector I want to focus on, however, is Employment and Workplace.

In the report, the authors mention multiple times that there is no need to fear AI because it is not an imminent threat to our way of life. They use the clich image of a robot army attacking the human race to paint a picture of what most people perceive to be dangerous AI. While I believe that it is true that we dont have to fear a robot army attacking humanity, I do believe that AI has incredible power that, if not prepared for now, will have devastating effects on our society in the next 15 years.

My main challenge to this report centers around the danger of AI. While robotics arent advanced to the level of Westworld just yet, there have been significant developments in the field over the last few years. Boston Dynamics, a robotics company based in Boston, has built humanoid and animal robots that have the ability to perform many tasks independent of human interaction. When combined with deep learning, these robots will eventually become so advanced within their environments that they will be able to perform tasks with incredible efficiency.

In addition, while Elon Musk is not an expert on the topic, he has incredible insight into a world that not many others have access to. From his perspective, we are on the cusp of a breakthrough in AI that, in the next 10 years, push computers into a new realm of intelligence: artificial general intelligence. When we make the jump from AI to AGI, the game completely changes. Computers are now able to direct most operations within a society with minimal error. With enough accurate and relevant data, computers will be able to run supply chains, control transportation logistics across the world, optimize manufacturing processes, facilitate transactions on global markets, draft governmental policy, and much more. This will all be possible because of AGI and its ability to simulate an infinite number of possible outcomes given any situation. With this power, millions of working people will be displaced by computers, and I believe this will happen in the next 15 years. With so many people out of work and the possibility of even more people being displaced, it begs the question what is our purpose? With so many people living in existential crisis, we become a threat to ourselves. This is where the biggest danger from AI comes in. 
