Skynet, right now, is a fictional artificial general intelligence that is conscious and able to make its own decisions. This is a system that is one of the features in Terminator movies and is actually the main antagonist for how it reacts throughout the movie series. The Skynet is able to use artificial intelligence in order to make decisions, just like a human, but it is often going to have some limitations based on the program it was originally given. And since it is artificial intelligence, it is not going to have some of the constraints that come with humans, such as confusion, emotions, and attachments.
While Skynet was originally saved for science fiction movies, there are actually places in our world that already use this kind of technology. In fact, it is more real than most people realize at this time, and with the advent of blockchain and the rise of other technology, it is a real possibility in our future. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that Skynet is already more real than we realize.
The military uses it
Artificial intelligence, which is the backbone to the whole idea of Skynet, is capable of doing a lot of good and a lot of harm all at once. This is why it has been very controversial when used in military applications. Drones and battlefield robots are science fiction-type products that are already in use with the military, as is technology like HAL, which is a suit that will give one man the power of ten. Some people believe that these developments are a sign that an arms race is happening among nations to see who is able to develop artificial intelligence the fastest and use it the most effectively.
This kind of technology has begun to be a central figure in international conversations about how modern war should be conducted. Many of these robots and drones are set up to make an autonomous kill decision without any kind of human intervention, which can make them effective on the battlefield, but how do you get them to stop or not kill the wrong side?
One type of weapon that the NSA has designed and is becoming really controversial is the MonsterMind. This is a type of system that is able to intercept all of the United States’ digital communications while also identifying threats and then launching strikes without someone being there to check the messages or find out whether or not there is really a threat present. But how does the program determine this and what happens if it is wrong or goes out of control from the program? If this doesn’t sound like the Skynet we have come to know from the Terminator movies, then what is?
It is changing quickly
According to the famous Moore’s Law, it is estimated that computing power is able to double about every eighteen months. If this holds true and things keep steady, it is possible that a computer would end up having the same type of computing power as the human brain as early as 2025.
There are many scientists who believe that the ideas behind Moore’s Law will break down before it gets to this point so we have nothing to worry about, there are already computers available that are lightning-fast in their processing power. How fast are their computers? It is already estimated that the fastest supercomputer in the world is at 34^16 cps while the human brain is able to do 10^16.
It’s becoming smarter
Artificial intelligence is getting faster and faster at the things that it can do. But one challenge with this intelligence is that it is working on how to develop complex processing in a way that is as easy as the human brain. Right now, the human brain can take on some of these complex processing tasks pretty easily, but artificial intelligence has some trouble doing this.
For a computer, multiplying together two 10-digit numbers right away is really easy. On the other hand, looking at a dog and figuring out whether that animal is a canine or a feline is going to be hard for it to handle. This is where the Turing Test was developed in order to measure how well a machine is able to exhibit behavior that is intelligent and similar to that of a human.
Among the various tech companies who are trying to pass the Turing Test, Google is one of the leaders in AI. So far Google has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the DeepMind company and other robotics companies to help spur this all along. Some of the inventions that are under the Google name include ladder-climbing robots, robotic pets, and cars that can self-drive.
It looks like us
There are now even some robots from Japan that are starting to look more human each year. Geminoid F, which was created by Hiroshi Ishiguro, can smile, sing, and talk and even has 65 facial expressions. The goal of this project was to make a robot that could go out in public and convince humans that it was real, and so far, it has been really successful in doing this. It may not be the same thing that we will see the Terminator movies, but it definitely is a step in the same direction.
While not all forms of artificial intelligence are going to focus on making robots that look like humans, it is interesting to know where this kind of technology is going. If it is already possible to make a robot that can do all the human functions, such as facial expressions and laughing, how much longer would it take to create some that could reason, talk, and pretty much be human other than they are run by a computer? It is pretty interesting to think about and the technology that is behind all of this science is shaping our future already.
Elite opposition is forming to it
There is quite a bit of opposition that is forming against artificial intelligence and the products that are coming from this. Stephen Hawking is one opponent of artificial intelligence and has been quoted as saying “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”
Hawkings is not the only scientist and tech innovator that is worked about the safety of using artificial intelligence. They believe that as this technology starts to progress more towards having the same intelligence as humans, it could pose a big threat to humans.
For the most part, this type of artificial intelligence is not used so far to harm other people and it does have some limitations on what it is allowed to do. Even military drones and products are controllable. But how long is this going to last? As the technology keeps going on, is it possible that the machines and robots will start to think even more for themselves, going off the code that was written for them and doing what they would like, regardless of what is set up for them? This is one of the big worries of many specialists who are watching artificial intelligence grow. They worry that a future Skynet, like what is found in the Terminator movies, may not be science fiction anymore, but actually something that we would see in our own future soon.
Artificial intelligence is often used in blockchain and other technologies because it helps to make it more intuitive. There are many processes that need the ability to react to what is going on without having the programmer there the whole time. But as this technology gets better and learns how to process things like humans do, it is possible that a future Skynet could be the situation that we deal with in the future.
