People all over the world are divided about the outcome of AI taking over. While some people see the bright side of AI like advancements in the healthcare industry, traffic updates and navigation, education, fraud detection, and online security, others believe that AI will threaten the existence of humanity if it takes over the world like a sci-fi plot. While it might or might not happen, it would be interesting to know how terrifying it could be if AI ever took over the world.
Rise of Deepfakes
Deepfake technology, which uses AI to manipulate audio and video, has already reached alarming levels of sophistication creating havoc worldwide. As of now, it is only being used to substitute celebrity faces in porn videos.
Tomorrow, it could make it look like you have participated in porn too, which could hurt your career or ruin your reputation. Or worse still, deepfakes could be used to spread false information or even provoke wars by creating fake statements from world leaders. For instance, a deepfake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging citizens to surrender circulated in 2022, showcasing the technology’s potential to disrupt global events and spark anarchy.
Robots That Can Deceive
Researchers have already developed robots that can bluff during strategy games like Chess and Go. If AI systems are programmed to deceive for strategic purposes, it could lead to manipulation on a large scale. Autonomous robots could trick humans into surrendering critical military information or performing tasks against their best interests, leading to catastrophic outcomes.
Chatbots, Echo Chambers, And Cyborgs Manipulating And Misleading People
Advanced chatbots and personas are becoming increasingly convincing. In the wrong hands, chatbots could mislead people, push dangerous ideologies, shape political discourse, or defraud individuals by pretending to be trustworthy sources. Cyborgs, AI systems embedded in human-like bodies, could exacerbate the problem by creating even more convincing deceptions. Algorithm-driven echo chambers can isolate users from diverse opinions leading to polarization.
The use of bots influenced politics and manipulated voters during the 2016 US presidential elections. According to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey held before the 2024 US presidential election, 57% of American adults believe AI-driven disinformation would impact the election.
Rise of ASI Weaponry
Artificial Superintelligence weaponry or autonomous weapons equipped with AI and characterized by intelligence surpassing human capabilities are already under development. Unlike human soldiers, these weapons don’t hesitate or feel empathy.
If programmed incorrectly or hacked, AI weapons could target civilians or even turn against their creators. Autonomous drones, missile systems, and even battlefield robots are being developed, with nations like the U.S., China, and Russia heavily investing in them.
As per the Brookings Institution report, a Washington-based think tank, the military spending on AI has grown significantly, with the U.S. allocating over $1 billion to AI defense research.
AI Cloning Your Voice
AI can now clone voices with startling accuracy, and the bigger worry is that tools like this are increasingly accessible. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that AI-powered scams accounted for losses of over $8.8 billion in the U.S. in 2022. With voice cloning, it will only get worse.
A hacker could use a cloned voice to impersonate you, tricking your family or friends into giving sensitive information. Even more alarming, criminals could use voice cloning to create fake ransom calls or bypass security systems that rely on voice authentication.
Self-Learning AI
Self-learning AI could evolve beyond its intended functions, finding loopholes in its programming or discovering unintended ways to complete tasks. If such AI systems bypass safety mechanisms and become uncontrollable, they could act against human interests, prioritizing efficiency or goals in ways that harm society.
In 2017, Facebook shut down chatbots that, were given autonomy to communicate without a directive to speak in English, started interacting with each other, and created their own language, non-understood by humans. It can happen again and on a massive, irreparable scale.
AI Hacking And Cybersecurity Threats
AI is not only used to protect systems but also to attack them. Cybercriminals could deploy AI to conduct advanced cyberattacks, bypassing firewalls and stealing sensitive data. AI-powered hacking could target governments, financial institutions, or even nuclear systems, leading to large-scale chaos. With the rise of interconnected devices, such threats become harder to contain.
Economic Disruption From Mass Job Losses
This one threat is poised to become an imminent reality. AI is already automating industries, from manufacturing to customer service. While automation improves efficiency, it also displaces human workers.
The World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report predicts that AI will displace 85 million jobs by 2025 while creating 97 million new ones. However, the benefits are expected to favor those with high-tech skills, leaving millions of workers in low-skilled jobs at a disadvantage. If AI systems continue to replace jobs across multiple sectors, it could lead to economic instability, widespread unemployment, and social unrest.
AI Surveillance And Loss of Privacy
AI is increasingly used for surveillance, with facial recognition systems monitoring public spaces. While this technology can control nefarious activities and help catch criminals, it also poses significant privacy concerns. Governments or corporations could misuse AI surveillance to monitor and control people’s behavior, creating a dystopian society, something like in George Orwell’s 1984, where freedom is severely curtailed. The absence of privacy could make rebellion or dissent nearly impossible.
12 Deepfake Disasters That Sparked Global Outrage
The rising advancements in Artificial Technology (AI) have provided newer, more sophisticated ways for cybercriminals to scam people. Deepfakes are one of their widely used weapons. It refers to creating manipulated images, videos, and audio with AI for fraudulent activities. They are so hyper-realistic that it becomes challenging for most people to identify them. While there have been several deepfake cases, the following 12 were the most scandalous.
16 Unexpected ChatGPT Capabilities You’ve Probably Never Tried
ChatGPT has 200 million weekly active users across the globe, 67.7 million in the US alone. You must have used ChatGPT for research, email writing, or social media content creation. However, ChatGPT can do some insane things that we bet you didn’t know. Read further to know.
