Fernando Alcoforado*
The aim of this article is to present the negative consequences and risks in using artificial intelligence and the measures that would allow us to avoid its harmful effects on humanity.
1. Introduction
The negative consequences and risks of using artificial intelligence and the measures that would allow us to avoid its harmful effects on humanity can be seen by reading the articles we have written, described below:
• Artificial superintelligence, its benefits and evils and what to do to avoid its harmful impacts on society, published on the website <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/artificial-superintelligence-its-benefits-evils-what-do-alcoforado-nrzdf/>.
• The benefits and risks of technological singularity based on artificial superintelligence, published on the website <https://www.academia.edu/44652377/THE_BENEFITS_AND_RISKS_OF_TECHNOLOGICAL_SINGULARITY_BASED_ON_ARTIFICIAL_SUPERINTELLIGENCE>.
• Rumo à indústria do futuro, published on the website <https://www.academia.edu/34710914/RUMO_%C3%80_IND%C3%9ASTRIA_DO_FUTURO>.
• The education with artificial intelligence and the deficiencies of its application in Brazil, published on the website <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/education-artificial-intelligence-deficiencies-its-alcoforado-imqpf/>
• Artificial intelligence in the human conquest of space, its other applications and its risks, published on the website <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/artificial-intelligence-human-conquest-space-its-other-alcoforado/>.
• Artificial intelligence – uses in productive systems and impacts on the world of work, published on the website <https://www.academia.edu/39751215/ARTIFICIAL_INTELLIGENCE_USES_IN_PRODUCTIVE_SYSTEMS_AND_IMPACTS_ON_THE_WORLD_OF_WORK>.
• O trabalho na era da inteligência artificial, publicado no website <https://www.portalsaudenoar.com.br/o-trabalho-na-era-da-inteligencia-artificial/>.
• The advent of artificial superintelligence and its impacts, published on the website <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advent-artificial-super-intelligence-its-impacts-fernando-alcoforado/>.
• The progress of artificial intelligence and its consequences, published on the website <https://www.academia.edu/35923303/THE_PROGRESS_OF_ARTIFICIAL_INTELLIGENCE_AND_ITS_CONSEQUENCES>.
• The solutions against unemployment resulting from technological advancement, published on the website <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/solutions-against-unemployment-resulting-from-fernando-alcoforado/>.
• How to mitigate unemployment and poverty in capitalism, published on the website <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-mitigate-unemployment-poverty-capitalism-fernando-alcoforado/>.
The analysis of these articles shows that artificial intelligence provides numerous benefits, but there are risks and disadvantages in its use, which will be presented in Chapter 2 below. Chapter 3 presents how to eliminate the harm and risks of using artificial intelligence.
2. Risks and harms of using artificial intelligence
Based on the reading of the articles we have written above, the following can be concluded:
• It is likely that artificial brains will surpass the intelligence of human brains by 2050 with the advent of Artificial Superintelligence. Artificial Superintelligence could become very powerful. The fate of humanity would therefore become dependent on the actions of these superintelligent machines. Human beings will lose their monopoly on decision-making with Artificial Superintelligence.
• The ongoing technological advances based on artificial intelligence will have a negative impact on the world of work because they could lead to the end of employment and a consequent drop in the demand for goods and services. The impact of artificial intelligence on society would be devastating, with mass unemployment resulting from its large-scale use.
• The Boston Consulting Group has predicted that by 2025, up to a quarter of jobs will be replaced by software or robots, while a study by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom indicates that 35% of current jobs in the country are at risk of being automated in the next two decades.
• It is unlikely that investment in education and training alone will solve the unemployment problem.
• There are risks in the use of Artificial Intelligence in education represented by: 1) the uncritical and unconscious use of technologies; 2) the facilitation of plagiarism; 3) the possibility of misinformation and the spread of fake news; 4) the deepening of educational inequality; 5) the excessive dependence on technology, with students becoming too accustomed to Artificial Intelligence tools and relying exclusively on them; 6) mechanical learning marked by repetition and reproduction of texts, without in-depth reflection on the subject; 7) discrimination with content generated by Artificial Intelligence that often reproduces discriminatory prejudices; and 8) violation of privacy.
• With Artificial Superintelligence, a wide range of consequences could occur, including extremely good consequences and consequences as bad as the extinction of the human species if it turns against human beings.
• Several personalities multiply the warnings about the existential risk that “superintelligent” and potentially uncontrollable machines would bring to humanity.
• Artificial Superintelligence could represent the extinction of the human race, according to scientist Stephen Hawking, who stated that technologies develop at such a dizzying pace that they will become uncontrollable to the point of putting humanity in danger.
• Artificial Superintelligence represents a risk that threatens the premature extinction of intelligent life on Earth, or the permanent and drastic destruction of its potential for desirable future development.
• There are extremely negative scenarios, such as superintelligent machines themselves deciding to destroy human beings, for example, by ending our civilization and infrastructure.
• There is fear that artificial intelligence is associated with the no less terrifying prospect of killer robots.
• Even if Artificial Superintelligence produces benefits for humanity, there is a risk that it will be used more for evil than for the good of humanity, with the tendency for its greater application for military purposes, that is, for cyber warfare in the global arms race.
• There is a very high risk that, under current conditions, not only superintelligent machines could threaten humanity, but also that ill-intentioned governments could use artificial superintelligence to serve their evil interests.
• Long relegated to the realms of science fiction, fear of artificial intelligence has been rooted in public debate for some years, associated both with the massive automation of the productive sector and mass unemployment, as well as with the prospect of contributing to the production of increasingly deadly weapons and the no less terrifying production of killer robots.
• An Artificial Superintelligence could intentionally wipe out humanity by destroying our planet’s atmosphere or biosphere with self-replicating nanotechnology, or it could fire all of our nuclear weapons, trigger a Terminator-like robot apocalypse, or unleash some unknown physical powers.
• There is a risk that Artificial Intelligence could be used by major powers to develop more powerful weapons than currently available to defend their interests and impose their will on the world stage.
• If major powers embark on an arms race using Artificial Superintelligence against rival nations, a weaponized Artificial Superintelligence could spiral out of control, whether in peacetime or during war.
All of this requires the development of control mechanisms for Artificial Superintelligence and intelligent systems in general, as described in Chapter 3.
3. How to eliminate the harm and risks of using artificial intelligence
Based on the reading of the articles we have written cited in the Introduction, it is clear that, in order to eliminate the harm and risks of using artificial intelligence, it is important to adopt the following measures:
• The future of work in a world with Artificial Intelligence requires the adoption of new measures aimed at qualifying the workforce, which must know how to use this technology as a tool, as a complement to its skills, with some functions being assigned to intelligent machines and systems and new functions for human beings.
• It is up to education system planners to identify the role of human beings in the world of work in the future in order to carry out a broad revolution in education at all levels, including the qualification of teachers and the structuring of teaching units to prepare their students for a world of work in which people will have to deal with intelligent machines.
• To implement a new education, it is essential to begin by identifying the skills needed for 21st century work and adapting the obsolete educational system to train citizens who are better equipped for the age of artificial intelligence.
• Students need to develop a critical sense to evaluate the information they receive and use all available tools in a conscious, creative, ethical and intelligent way.
• Teachers need to make students aware of plagiarism, guide them on the correct way to cite authors and use plagiarism detection tools.
• Students need to develop a critical sense to evaluate content generated by Artificial Intelligence.
• Educational institutions must guide students and professionals on good Internet security practices and select educational technologies that comply with the General Data Protection Law (LGPD).
• Educational institutions at all levels, their administrators and teachers must persevere in ensuring that the benefits prevail and avoiding the risks of using Artificial Intelligence in education.
• The future trend is for unemployment and extreme poverty to worsen. Given this perspective, the solution would consist of national states adopting public policies aimed at developing the creative economy, the social and solidarity economy to alleviate unemployment, and the implementation of a basic income or universal minimum income to alleviate poverty.
• The most effective solution to alleviate poverty is to adopt a policy of income guarantee for workers. In addition to the need to provide a net basic income for unemployed workers, there is a powerful argument for adopting an income guarantee policy because technological advances, in addition to promoting mass unemployment, contribute to the vertiginous rise in social inequality.
• It would be up to the governments of countries around the world to charge taxes on high-tech companies to ensure the adoption of an income guarantee policy for the unemployed population.
• A basic income policy or universal minimum income for the population is one of the solutions to alleviate poverty. The government giving free money to everyone, that is, a universal minimum income program would make it possible to alleviate or eliminate poverty. Among the reasons for this idea to become a reality is that distributing money reduces crime, improves the health of the population and allows everyone to invest in themselves.
• The minimum income policy will be like ‘venture capital’ (investment in startups) for the people, giving everyone the opportunity to take risks. This will generate a wave of entrepreneurship. Money should be distributed to everyone and not just to the poor. The basic income program should be universal by being expanded to the rich and the middle class, so that it becomes a right for all citizens, not a favor.
• Income Transfer Program through which the State would provide income to poor people should be complemented by the adoption of the Creative Economy and the Social and Solidarity Economy as a solution to combat mass unemployment resulting from technological advances.
• Job creation with the “Creative Economy” is carried out with activities with socioeconomic potential that deal with creativity, knowledge and information and would be less affected by the advance of artificial intelligence. Companies in this segment combine the creation, production and commercialization of creative goods of a cultural and innovative nature such as Fashion, Art, Digital Media, Advertising, Journalism, Photography and Architecture. In common, companies in this area depend on talent and creativity to effectively exist.
• Employment generation with the Social and Solidarity Economy is carried out through activities based on a new form of work organization in which maximizing profit is no longer the main objective, giving way to maximizing the quantity and quality of work. Based on the Social and Solidarity Economy, it is possible to recover bankrupt companies and continue them, with a new mode of production. The Social and Solidarity Economy is a new model of economic, social, political and environmental development that has a different way of generating work and income, in various sectors, whether in community banks, credit unions, family farming cooperatives, in the issue of fair trade, in exchange clubs, etc.
• Artificial Superintelligence must be developed for the common good of humanity.
• The Principle of the Common Good in all Artificial Intelligence projects in the world will only be possible to put into practice with the existence of democratic governments in each country and a democratic world government, without which humanity will be at the mercy of not only superintelligent machines that decide to destroy human beings, but also of ill-intentioned rulers.
• The Principle of the Common Good in all long-term Artificial Intelligence projects must be carried forward in order to avoid the risk of it being used for evil and not for the good of humanity, and there must be democratic governments in each country in the world and a world government that ensures that these objectives are achieved.
• There must be strong research collaboration between the security community and the Artificial Superintelligence development community, and all parties involved must incorporate the Principle of the Common Good in all long-term Artificial Intelligence projects.
• Artificial Superintelligence requires that better control mechanisms be developed before creating intelligent systems, attracting the greatest experts in mathematics and computer science to this field.
• The European Union recently took a major step by establishing rules – the first in the world – on how companies can use Artificial Intelligence. This move paves the way for global standards for a technology used in everything. Similar regulations should be adopted worldwide.
• The following ten steps can be taken to contain the risks of artificial superintelligence:
- Technical security – Adopting concrete technical measures to mitigate potential harm and maintain control.
- Audits – This is a way to ensure transparency and accountability of the technology.
- Bottlenecks – Creating levers to slow down development and gain time for regulators (governments) to act and develop defensive technologies.
- Developers – Obtaining assurance that technology developers build in appropriate controls from the start.
- Businesses- Alignment of incentives of organizations behind the technology with its containment.
- Government- Effective action in regulating the technology and implementing mitigation measures.
- Alliances- Creation of a system of international cooperation to harmonize laws and programs.
- Culture- Sharing lessons learned and failures in order to quickly disseminate means of dealing with them.
- Movements- Public demand that each component be held accountable.
- Coherence- Harmonious action by all involved so that the containment of the risks of artificial superintelligence is a virtuous circle of mutually reinforcing measures.
* Fernando Alcoforado, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member of the SBPC- Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science, IPB- Polytechnic Institute of Bahia and of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer from the UFBA Polytechnic School and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, college professor (Engineering, Economy and Administration) and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional planning, urban planning and energy systems, was Advisor to the Vice President of Engineering and Technology at LIGHT S.A. Electric power distribution company from Rio de Janeiro, Strategic Planning Coordinator of CEPED- Bahia Research and Development Center, Undersecretary of Energy of the State of Bahia, Secretary of Planning of Salvador, is the author of the books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018), Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019), A humanidade ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência (Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021), A escalada da ciência e da tecnologia e sua contribuição ao progresso e à sobrevivência da humanidade (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2022), a chapter in the book Flood Handbook (CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida United States, 2022), How to protect human beings from threats to their existence and avoid the extinction of humanity (Generis Publishing, Europe, Republic of Moldova, Chișinău, 2023), A revolução da educação necessária ao Brasil na era contemporânea (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2023), Como construir um mundo de paz, progresso e felicidade para toda a humanidade (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2024) and How to build a world of peace, progress and happiness for all humanity (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2024).
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