Commentary: human-centred AI: the new zeitgeist

Abstract

Hancock’s article on avoiding autonomous agent actions reads like a literary piece of work replete with esoteric phrasing and the odd bit of Latin thrown into the mix. It is cleverly crafted prose, with poignant metaphors warning us of a foreboding future of malfunctioning, dysfunctioning and failing autonomous machines that could wreak havoc in society and even destroy us if we don’t do something about them sharp. One of the most dramatic analogies is to cast autonomous systems like the evolution of a ring of volcanic islands rising from the ocean; abrupt and explosive rather than a slow gradual evolution. In contrast, we humans are viewed as taking the “littoral role of beaches and riparian shorelines,” receding as the volcanos spew forth. The oceanic imagery conjured up certainly does paint an apocalyptic future. I imagined hearing the soundtrack of War of the Worlds as I read it.