Will Machines Take Over? CDS Professor gives talk on the future of AI

Will AI one day come to overtake humanity and rule the world? This question was once just fodder for science fiction enthusiasts, but as advances in artificial intelligence continue to escalate that is no longer the case. Even academics are giving this question some thought, including Professor Sanjay Chaudhary at Ahmedabad University in India. As part of a seminar series Professor Chaudhary spoke to CDS Professor Vasant Dhar about the future of AI and about whether our worst sci-fi nightmares can be avoided while also allowing AI to provide meaningful improvements to our lives.

In the talk, which streamed live on February 27th and can now be watched on Youtube, Professors Chaudhary and Dhar talked about Dhar’s history in the field of AI and how he sees it changing humanity not only in the future but also the present:

“[AI is] already changing us as human beings … COVID and being virtual has changed us in ways we’re still trying to understand. Even this once incident [has changed] how we use technology and [how] technology has become much more infused in our lives … Even really primitive AI and virtualization is changing human beings in fundamental ways … I suspect we’re going to see a generation of people who are actually quite different. We just don’t realize it yet … This is a path that’s started and we’re just going to see more of it.”