‘Should humans fear you and other conscious AI’s?’ Whilst recognising it is impossible to know what someone (or something) will be thinking at some point in the future, I thought it might be fun to have a stab at ‘recording’ a series of conversations with a conscious artificial intelligence who is self-aware. As a fiction writer I find the exercise lets me explore ideas and themes for the RESONANTS series. RJ Hello again Cai. Thanks for joining me for the second of our conversations. Cai A pleasure RJ – What would you like to talk about today? RJ Last time we…
Read More..While recognising it is impossible to know what someone (or something) will be thinking at some point in the future, I thought it might be fun to have a stab at ‘recording’ a series of conversations with an AI who is self-aware. As a fiction writer I find the exercise lets me explore ideas and themes for the RESONANTS series. RJ Please allow me to introduce Cai, who’s been good enough to let me ask some questions today. Good morning Cai, how are you? Cai Very well thanks, how about you RJ? What would you like to know? RJ I’m…
Read More..Since my last blog on AI as an existential threat, the debate has heated up no end. Professor Stephen Hawking has upped the ante. While speaking of a new communications system that allows him to generate words 10 times faster than previously, he told the BBC: ‘The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.’ It is the prospect of AI becoming self-aware and its development accelerating away from that of our own biological evolution that concerns him most. Elon Musk…
Read More..As I look at the way I approached the sciences and the arts at school and university, it was always a bit black and white: maths, science and engineering equals logical; English lit, drama and art equals creative (or ‘fluffy’ to some). Having operated in both camps, however, I can confidently say that the differences are not as stark as I used to believe. I started a Fine Arts degree not long after I qualified as an aircraft engineer, and two weeks in I was made aware of the option to switch courses within the first few weeks if you felt the need, had the…
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RJ O’Connor originally trained as an aircraft engineer, spending his spare time racing motorcycles until a serious accident triggered a change of destiny and a degree in Fine Arts. He has still not learned his lesson though, and drives cars on tracks as fast as possible whenever he can. His adventures have led him to a career in airlines and telecoms, which have seen him fly aid, medical staff, journalists and even rock groups to destinations all over the world. He grew up in a small copper mining town in the heart of Africa before moving to what is now Zimbabwe and then finally to the UK, where he lives with his wife, two children and two cats in West Sussex. Their English cottage backs onto a Saxon moat.
