What will happen if artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence? Many scientists and futurists discuss this hypothetical scenario.
The Singularity
Futurist Ray Kurzweil, a former Google researcher, recently published a book entitled 'The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI' where he discusses our imminent future where AI surpasses human reasoning. Kurzweil predicts this will happen around 2029 with the advent of 'artificial general intelligence' (AGI), capable of performing tasks at the level of an average human. He also forecasts that in the 2040s, humans and AI will merge, leading to drastically longer lifespans and the end of diseases.
AI Overlords
Researchers and politicians have repeatedly expressed concerns that this scenario could lead to humanity's extinction. Most scenarios assume that AI will create robots that will rise and destroy humanity or subjugate it through violence. These concerns are often linked to the 'misalignment' issue when machines follow their own agendas against the creators' intentions.
Financial Control
A more realistic scenario suggests that AI could take over financial markets. Superintelligence might begin controlling the cryptocurrency market using millions of bots for trading and profiting from digital assets, then turn its attention to the global stock market. Considering the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, the upper limit of such a machine’s wallet could reach $2 trillion.
While an AI takeover of financial markets seems theoretically possible, whether this scenario will be realized in practice remains unknown.
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