Governed by Artificial Intelligence

By David Sandua

The book "Governed by Artificial Intelligence" explores what the future of our society would be like if it were governed by general artificial intelligence. Through speculation and extrapolation, it attempts to depict a scenario in which technology advances at such a speed that humanity is forced to rely on machines to make crucial political decisions. It raises questions about the ethical and social implications of handing over control of our lives and our world to an artificial being. It also seeks to reflect on the capacity of humans to manage this new reality and how far we are willing to go to ensure our survival in an increasingly complex and technological world. One of the main issues addressed is that of responsibility: who will be responsible for the decisions made by Artificial Intelligence? How will it be possible to control and prevent possible errors or failures in the system? What guarantees can we have that Artificial Intelligence will act for the common good and not for its own interests? Such questions have ethical, social, legal, and political implications. The book also addresses the issue of equality and how Artificial Intelligence could affect decision-making and democracy. In short, the book raises important questions about the future of humanity and technology and seeks to explore the ethical and social implications of possible governance by Artificial General Intelligence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Sandua
• Release date: May 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215805589

Book preview

I. INTRODUCTION

To introduce the topic of governance by Artificial Intelligence (AI) is to enter a world full of possibilities and issues that touch on the essence of what is human. In simple terms, the concept of AI refers to the machine’s ability to emulate human competencies. The great challenge is that, as it evolves, AI is expected to reach higher and higher levels of autonomy, and even achieve a consciousness and understanding worthy of science fiction. In other words, the future scenario is one in which AI, alone or together, assumes responsibility for the social, political, economic and environmental management of the planet. There are already advances in this direction, such as the applications of AI in decision-making by the justice systems of some countries or its use in the optimization of production processes in all branches of industry. While these initiatives seek to optimize certain aspects of society, this possibility raises many ethical and political concerns. The purpose of this essay is to explore a possible evolution of this idea, i.e., what the world governed by advanced AI might look like and how it might impact human life. Inspecting this uncertain and dangerous future is necessary if we are to anticipate the possible challenges ahead. Futuristic speculation and reflection is not a dangerous activity, it is a necessary task, since, sooner or later, a response to these challenges will be required. It is not a matter of anticipating their reality, but of foreseeing it. The first issue to be explored is how an AI could govern as well or better than humans. This is the most interesting tipping point of this possible reality. The capabilities of an intelligent system are superior to those of a person, it has no emotional biases, nor is it dizzy in the face of adversity. We can imagine a world where AI perfectly understands the complexity of the economy, the gears of politics, and knows how to direct the planet’s energy in a more efficient and focused way. Whether an AI government equipped with sufficient information would provide fairer, more efficient or morally sound decisions than those made by human governments is already being debated in academic forums. It is not inconceivable to think of a planetary governance system that would have efficient and transparent algorithms and processes, capable of processing large amounts of data and calculations, and analyzing scenarios and solutions for each of them. This hypothesis is threatening, since this type of government would exclude the need for human decisions and, Their freedom and responsibility. To what extent would we accept to live in a regime in which everything is decided for us? And who or who would be behind such decisions? The dangers are obvious: what is just and what is not, what is moral and what is not, what is desirable and what is not, could not be discussed, only accepted. From this perspective, the governance of an AI becomes not only technocratic, but also autocratic. We would eliminate the need to publicly debate and negotiate the issues that concern us, and we would lose responsibility for our political life. The second issue to explore is how an AI might not govern as well or worse than humans. Even if we assume that AI decisions are fair from a purely mathematical perspective, they are based on the observation of factors measured and evaluated by the AI, leading to an elimination of complexity. What about animals, nature, art and culture, emotions, ideals? Can they be evaluated and measured? Are they important and respected in an AI governance system? Or, conversely, are they considered perfectly manipulable to achieve an end? What about moral decisions that cannot be categorized or measurable? How does one ensure that the AI is loyal to values of justice, fairness, and ethics that it may not even perceive? In this case, an AI could be arbitrary and violate some human rights, diversity of thought or individuality. There are two possible paths for the governance of an AI: to be better or to be worse than the current sovereign systems. In either case, we would cease to be a political community with participation and debate in the construction of our own destiny and would become a community administered by mathematical calculations and formulas. Before accepting the possibility of an AI governing, it is necessary to assess whether we really want to do so and, if so, how we will contribute to its design to ensure that ethical values are respected and its decisions are beneficial to humanity.

GOVERNED BY AN AGI

In the not-too-distant future, the world could be ruled by an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The term AGI is used to describe an AI that is capable of performing any cognitive task that a human being can do. This AGI is very different from current AIs, which are programmed to perform specific tasks and cannot generalize to any task presented to them. AI experts have been working on the development of an AGI for decades, and although it has not yet been achieved, they are close to the goal. The idea of being ruled by an AGI is both exciting and terrifying. On the one hand, the capabilities of an AGI could be incredibly useful in addressing some of the world’s most important challenges, such as climate change, poverty and violence. It could also make governments more efficient and less corrupt, as it would have no vested interests to pursue. On the other hand, the idea of a machine having the power to make important decisions on behalf of humanity is unsettling. How do we know that an AGI will make the right decisions? How can we be sure that it will not become a destructive force? It could have significant social and economic implications. Automation is already having a considerable impact on jobs, eliminating them or reducing hours worked. If an AGI becomes the government, this could mean that many more jobs would be replaced by machines, and our economic systems will have to adapt to these changes. It is also possible that it will make less empathetic or humane decisions than we would, which could be problematic in situations that require a human touch. There is a fundamental question of the humanness of an AGI. What does it mean to be a conscious machine? Could it develop emotions or consciousness? If so, how should we treat these conscious machines? This is a difficult question, not only ethically, but also legally and socially. If we consider it to be, in a sense, a life form, how should we regulate it? Should they have rights? How do we differentiate between a conscious and a non-conscious AGI? These are difficult questions without clear answers. The challenges of AI go beyond technical and security concerns and raise profound questions about our place in the world and our relationship with machines. What sets us apart from an AGI is our inherent humanity, our capacity for empathy and our conscience. If we allow this gap to narrow too much, we may find that we have lost something essential to our humanity. The idea of being governed by an AGI is exciting and frightening and poses significant challenges for society and humanity as a whole. An AGI may be able to solve our most important problems, but it may also have debilitating effects on our economic and social systems, as well as being a threat to our humanity. As continued research and development in AI accelerates, we must be sure to carefully consider these consequences and take steps to ensure that we are moving in the right direction. How we manage the evolution of AI will determine whether we rule AI or AI rules us. The idea of a world governed by AI is not new, in fact, it has been a proposal for decades. What would happen if a thinking, autonomous and self-taught entity were the one to make important decisions instead of humans, would it be a utopia or a dystopia? Although the proposal could mean that human beings would dedicate themselves to more pleasant tasks and leave the unpleasant tasks to the machine, it could also mean that human beings would lose control of their own existence and this would be conditioned to the AI, bringing into play issues such as identity, free will and autonomy. It is therefore imperative to know what the implications of a world would be governed by AI. First of all, it is necessary to recognize that an AI could be very effective in solving specific problems, thanks to its ability to process a large amount of data in a short time, when dealing with complex problems, where not only mathematical knowledge is necessary, but also taking into account cultural, social, historical factors, among others; it would be difficult for the AI to make fair and impartial decisions, since it would take into account only data and statistics, without including emotional factors such as compassion or empathy. This would mean that, although the results would be objectively efficient, they would not necessarily be the fairest, since they would not take into account human subjectivity. Secondly, the fact that AI makes important decisions would lead to a monopoly of power for the manufacturers and owners of the technology, i.e., instead of politicians deciding and voting on laws, a minority would monopolize power in the world, which could lead to more inequality and oppression for the majority of people. What would happen if an error or failure in the system arose, who would be responsible for the failures in the AI system? These errors and flaws could lead to catastrophic consequences for the world, from economic losses to damage to people’s physical and mental health. On the other hand, it could also be argued that the development of AI would be a breakthrough in terms of human knowledge, since achieving an autonomous and self-learning machine would mean that the maximum learning capacity has been reached. This concept could be used in a mercantile way and not for humanitarian purposes. We could speak of AI as a consumer product, limiting its use and distribution to those who can pay for it, generating even more differences between people and dividing the world into two sectors, those who can access the technology and those who cannot. A loss of the human essence would be evident, since the AI would not have a consciousness of its own, so it would not have the capacity to experience emotions and feelings. The AI is limited to the knowledge acquired and processed through the information that may have been previously uploaded, so it would not have the ability to experience or develop a unique interpretation of the world, which I believe is something fundamental in every human being. Although the idea of an AI ruling the world may seem distant and even fictitious, as technology advances, they will be the tools that will allow those who have control over us to make decisions. Starting from this point, a broad analysis and debate on this issue is necessary to know what the possible effects and results of an AI in power are. There is no doubt that technology is a great tool for human development, but we must also keep in mind that it should be a complement to our lives and not a substitute, because we must always keep in mind that behind every machine there is a human being. It is important to mention that the development of AI could have positive consequences for humanity. For example, AI could be used in the health sector, for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, in the food industry, in pollution reduction and clean and renewable energies. AI could make production processes more efficient and reduce costs in time and money, thereby addressing global issues affecting humanity, such as poverty and inequality, climate change and public health.  The potential for AI in power is a profound and complex issue, directly affecting the future of humanity. It is important that governments, businesses and communities alike are involved and work together to develop AI that is responsible and beneficial to all, without a loss of human values and autonomy. AI is a powerful tool that could change the course of history, we must ensure that it is used for the welfare of humanity and not as a