What once was fiction is now an everyday tool for the modern age. A phone on your wrist, video chatting with anyone, anywhere, at any time. Portable devices and wireless connections. Instantly accessible information available by typing a phrase or two on a search bar. These are things that must have seemed far-fetched just a few decades ago, and now they’re here.
It seems like we live in an unprecedented time of technological growth, and artificial intelligence is at the forefront of today’s conversations.
“I saw a thing with Elon Musk where he voiced some concerns about AI,” said Ryan Sorrensen, an interdisciplinary studies major with an emphasis in psychology concentration. “I don't think that [AI] will be our ultimate detriment.”
Last week, students and faculty in the Communication Department shared their views on AI, and how they see it affecting the future. This week, professor Lee Barney, from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at BYU-Idaho, shares his insight.
“There are two categories people tend to fall into,” Barney said. “The first are the evangelists and the second would be the skeptics, and I fall into the skeptic side.”
Barney is skeptical about how advanced AI can actually become, and feels that the evangelists are over-promising its actual capabilities.
“What’s going on underneath the hood is a bunch of statistical calculations based on data,” Barney said.
He says this isn’t the first time we’ve had an AI scare and mentioned a documentary from 1961 titled “The Thinking Machine” which was produced by MIT.
The documentary is an interview that covers developments of AI during the 60s and compares and contrasts the programming of a machine, with the biological coding of living things.
The documentary shows that fears and discussions of AI back in the 60s are similar to the fears many have today. Despite the concerns, Barney says AI will never compare to human intellect. Instead he sees a future where AI is used to enhance learning and work.
“I can envision a time here at BYU-Idaho where classrooms are completely different,” said Barney.
If new developments in AI are something to look forward to, what will be the benefits?
“I think AI will open us up to possibilities that culturally we’ve been conditioned to think are not an option,” said Sorrensen.
How can we integrate AI into the classroom at BYU-Idaho, and how can it improve our work lives moving forward?
This is the second part of a three part series on how artificial intelligence is affecting BYU-Idaho and the prospective careers of future students. Join us next week for the final part of the series where we ask, and try to answer those questions.
"The Thinking Machine" MIT 1961
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