Extended Intelligence at TEDxZHAW, or: How Not to Fear AI
Thilo Stadelmann, Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, makes the case for a better understanding of AI and how this mitigates exaggerated fears in his TEDx Talk.
Imagine you are the world’s best chess player and play against a computer while the whole world is watching. And not just any computer, but the world’s most advanced chess AI system. Suddenly, it makes a random move that you cannot comprehend. How would you react? Would you question yourself or the machine?
This scenario happened in 1997, and the famous chess player Garri Kasparov did the latter. He thought that the move by IBM’s computer “Deep Blue” was part of a masterful plan and a sign of higher intelligence. In reality, it was a bug in the computer’s system. Gripped by fear, Kasparov was thrown off his match plan and ultimately lost the match.
“Kasparov’s defeat became known as humankind’s first major loss against AI. But the human did not lose against the machine's abilities. He lost against the man's fears”, says Thilo Stadelmann, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the ZHAW School of Engineering. “Today I observe something similar”, he remarks and opens his TEDx talk with this powerful statement. In his talk, he points out reasons why we do not need to fear current AI systems. Stadelmann proposed a new perspective on AI, suggesting that it should be viewed as "Extended Intelligence" (EI) rather than Artificial Intelligence (AI). This perspective acknowledges the potential of AI to augment human capabilities, rather than replace them.
The talk offered insights into the opportunities and challenges of AI and its potential to transform various aspects of our lives.