The year 2023 was a significant year in the history of artificial intelligence. However, this was just the beginning of the story. Some experts believe that in 2024 we will witness some alarming advancements in AI, from the production of synthetic content to many other capabilities including practical applications of chatbots.
According to Live Science,the phenomenon of artificial intelligence is not new and has existed for decades. However, what sets it apart from the past is that now regular people can also access it through chatbots like OpenAI’s chatbot. This technology has been developed over years of experience, trial and error, and has a long history behind it.
Artificial intelligence has come to transform processes from medical diagnosis to scientific discoveries. For example, it can analyze an X-ray scan to detect the risk of lung cancer, or during the COVID-19 pandemic, an AI algorithm was developed to identify a person’s infection with the virus by listening to subtle differences in their cough. AI has also been used to design scientific experiments, especially in quantum physics.
However, the applications of artificial intelligence are not limited to these areas, and AI has entered into unpleasant and even dangerous territories. From killer drones to the production of synthetic content, each in its own way threatens the future of humanity.
Live Science lists some of the most horrifying potential advancements in AI in 2024 in their report.
Q-Star AI; Has General Artificial Intelligence Arrived?
No one exactly knows why Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was fired from his job in late 2023 and then reinstated. But in the chaos surrounding his removal from the company, there were heard rumors that some of them seemed disturbing.
Among these rumors was the emergence of a technology called Q-Star, which some believe may embody General Artificial Intelligence. There is very little information about this secretive system, but if these reports are true, this project could advance the capabilities of artificial intelligence several steps further.
General Artificial Intelligence is a term used by computer scientists, and it refers to reaching a stage where artificial intelligence surpasses humans and becomes more intelligent. Current models of AI still have many problems, and in areas such as creativity-based reasoning, they lag behind humans. Most of the content generated by AI is based only on the data it has been trained on.
However, General Artificial Intelligence may be able to perform some tasks better than most humans. This is exactly what has worried scientists. If used for aggressive purposes, stopping General Artificial Intelligence will not be an easy task.
For example, AI could use enhanced pathogens, launch large-scale cyber attacks, or organize operations of forgery and production of fake content, threatening human civilization.
The idea of General Artificial Intelligence has long seemed like a scientific-fictional concept, and many scientists still believe that we will never reach that point.
If OpenAI has truly reached this stage, it would be a major shock. But the reality is that this is not quite improbable. Sam Altman was working on laying the groundwork for General Artificial Intelligence in February 2023, and some researchers have said that General Artificial Intelligence will be available within the next 5 years. But will we achieve General Artificial Intelligence in 2024? Time will tell.
Election Fraud and Deepfake Technology
One of the most important cyber threats is deepfakes. Deepfakes are artificially created images or videos of people that may present an incorrect image of them. The deepfake technology has not been reliable enough to be considered a major threat, but the conditions will not always remain the same, and everything may soon change.
Artificial intelligence has now become so good at generating human faces that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between real and fake images.
A study in Psychological Science in November last year showed that a phenomenon called hyperrealism can lead to content generated by AI being perceived as more real than actual reality.
This makes it nearly impossible for ordinary people to distinguish between reality and fiction with the naked eye. While there are some tools to help people identify deepfakes, these tools still have a long way to go to have a definitive and accurate impact on identifying fake images.
With the advancement of artificial intelligence, the alarming possibility is that deepfakes may be used to change the results of elections.
For example, in preparation for an election in January, Bangladesh could be disrupted by deepfakes. As the United States prepares for the 2024 presidential election, there is a possibility that AI and deepfakes could change the outcome of these important elections.
Some reports indicate that many states in the US do not have the necessary laws or tools to address the dissemination of false information by AI.
Killer Robots with Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in military weaponry worldwide. The US government announced on November 22 that 47 states in this country have endorsed a statement on responsible use of artificial intelligence in the military.
Some scientists say that composing such a statement was necessary, because the irresponsible use of artificial intelligence undoubtedly poses a terrifying prospect for humanity. For example, we have seen AI-powered drones carry out attacks in Libya without human intervention.
In fact, artificial intelligence can recognize patterns, self-learn, predict, or even make recommendations in military areas. As a result, there is a fierce arms race in artificial intelligence in the world.
In 2024, we may not only witness the use of artificial intelligence in weapons systems, but also see its use in logistics and support systems, as well as in research and development units.
A prominent example was in 2022 when artificial intelligence was able to produce 40,000 new hypothetical chemical weapons.
Various branches of the US military have ordered drones that can identify targets and track battle events better than humans. Israel also used artificial intelligence to identify targets and attack them at least 50 times faster than humans during the recent war with Hamas.
But one of the most terrifying aspects of the advancement of artificial intelligence is the development of lethal autonomous weapon systems or what is known as killer robots. Prominent figures such as Stephen Hawking in 2015 and Elon Musk in 2017 have warned about the dangers of this technology. While it has not yet been fully developed on a mass scale, some alarming advancements suggest that 2024 may be the year of the emergence of killer robots. Some reports indicate that Russia used drones in its invasion of Ukraine that could identify and attack targets without human intervention.
Australia has also done the same by developing an autonomous underwater system. According to Reuters, the amount of money spent by countries worldwide on artificial intelligence can be a crucial indicator. The fact that China increased its expenditure on artificial intelligence from a total of 11.6 million dollars in 2010 to 141 million dollars in 2019 indicates that this country is in a tough competition with the US over advancements in artificial intelligence. These advancements indicate that we are entering a new era of artificial intelligence warfare.