 |
| Image created with AI (OpenAI DALL·E, accessed via ChatGPT), April 2026. |
Despite all the undeniably wondrous progress achieved by mankind, which today seriously toys with the idea of becoming an intergalactic species, it is not as if mankind is not beset with major problems, many of which are existential ones. From wars and famines to medical issues and environmental degradation that threaten its very survival, mankind grapples with a multitude of problems that it seems unable to resolve. Might not AI be the panacea for all of its ills and problems that it seems both unable and unwilling to resolve?
With its ability to save time and enhance productivity and efficiency, AI can not only help be the catalyst for economic growth and regeneration for the world, but it can also offer practical and workable solutions for political, environmental, educational and healthcare issues that may presently seem intractable.
How can thinking machines make the world a better place?
Can we and should we trust thinking machines capable of making decisions independent of our oversight and supervision to make decisions that have a profound influence on both our day to day lives as well as our very future? The way that AI is progressing, it is not just engaging in the process of augmenting human endeavour but is actually on the cusp of supplanting it altogether. Is it a fair trade-off then, if it can make critical decisions that have a bearing on our overall well-being across politics, economics, and healthcare in a highly efficient and expeditious manner?
Will such an AI technology make the world a utopia or a place where mankind may not have a future and be made to go extinct? Could not the human race leverage the awesome power of AI without becoming its victim? The jury is out on whether AI is the greatest boon to mankind or an unprecedented existential threat.
Already, there is a demand arising from technology mavens, social scientists, governments, civil society and people at large to regulate and rein in AI in a manner that the possibility of it going rogue is completely ruled out. In any case, leaving AI completely unsupervised runs the risk of not only a loss of control over the direction that it may take, but it also leaves one unaware about how reliable the autonomous decisions made by AI are.
AI that is being used currently is far from faultless and can’t really be expected to serve any practical purpose unless there is human oversight on its application. It is, of course, expected to get better and better with time, but it will work out best for humans only if they are equal participants in its journey. AI and humans will have to achieve progress in a collaborative manner and should never be at the cost of the latter. That defeats the very purpose of having AI in our midst.
Imbuing AI with morality
The other important aspect is to train human beings to not only learn to effectivley leverage the tremendous power of AI, but to use it for the right purpose. So, it may not be a question about our trusting AI to not go rogue against us, but also about it being used by people who have an upright moral compass. Imagine the havoc it might wreak if it falls into the wrong hands. Also, there is the danger of an AI divide, where those with access lord it over those who either don't have access or can't afford it to the detriment of the latter.
In many ways, AI will prove to be a lot like money- whoever has it, has power and authority, which could be used for noble and constructive purposes or to further personal agenda, which may be far from noble. While it may possess the potential to make the world a better place, the question is whether that is indeed going to be what that technology will really be used for? Democratisation of AI access is, therefore, going to have to be striven for so that everyone is able to reap the benefits of this revolutionary technology, which promises to refashion the very world we live in with every passing day.
AI could indeed be the harbinger of a brave new world, but the question is whether that world would be the one that humans want to inhabit. A super efficient, comfortable and safe world where most, if not all, human needs are met, under the impersonal and emotionally barren reign of machines with super human intelligence and strength might not be what we would like to end up with. A world where human endeavours are not driven by a sense of wonder and innate curiosity, but by preordained programs of activity to keep us occupied, a la The Matrix, could possibly await us if we meekly submit to the dictates of AI, which has become the arbiter of human destiny.
Would we have ceded all control to such machines, or would we have them work for and under us? If they surpass us in intelligence, as many are sure they will in the not-so-distant future, would it be possible that they would carry out their agenda instead of ours? We have no idea how beings or entities who are leagues ahead of us in intelligence and all manner of capabilities would treat us. If we go by our own human experience in this regard, where slavery and colonialism were imposed on the weak by the strong, there does not seem to be much scope for optimism.
