Risks to the Public

Abstract

Where to begin? Things seem to be getting wildly out of control. I make a comment in the arti cial intelligence subsection here, relating to risks of autonomous robotic airplane pilots (Pibot, Wingman). That comment is also applicable to self-driving vehicles, hospital AI, and other life-critical or mission-critical automated and semi-automated systems: We desperately need evidence-based assurance rather than over-hyped assertions that we should simply trust the developers and operating managers. Oth- erwise, the integrity and credibility of our rampantly increasing overdependence on untrustworthy technol- ogy may cause a collapse of trust in our technology. Undoubtedly, avoiding such a systemic failure may require radical changes in how computer science and system engineering should be taught and practiced, along with corresponding oversight, and serious penalties for failures. I once again invoke the Einstein Principle that Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. It is just one of many important principles that are needed to make our system development into a solid discipline. However, beware of simplistic legislation, charlatans, frauds, and other recurring risks.