Terrorism And AI Mix Seems Inevitable, Spells Disaster

For most people who are afraid of what artificial intelligence can do, their fear mostly revolves around the possibility of machines taking over the world. However, the threat that is brought up less often is how AI is also accessible to terrorists. With hackers showing the world how vulnerable the internet can be and Elon Musk declaring that complex artificial intelligence could destroy the World Wide Web, the idea of extremists developing advanced AI to target countries is no long as farfetched as it sounds.

As Futurism notes, the greater public consciousness is often behind on the true capabilities of terrorists until it is staring them right in the face. Before 9/11, for example, bioterrorism wasn’t that popular of a topic. Immediately after the horrific incident, however, Anthrax fears rose in an enthralling crescendo.

Now, history repeats itself with the concept of AI terrorism, where extremists can use high-level, machine-learning technology and use it as a weapon to attack targets. If individuals could take down the internet with an army of toasters, a highly complex algorithm that can outthink humans could do significantly more damage.

For example, AIs could take over control of cars that are connected to the internet, and the same goes for military drones. This is a very real threat that is currently overshadowed by the many mundane concerns in the world, but it doesn’t make it any less real.

Then, there’s the long-standing fear that even tech giants have about AI, as Time listed. With names like Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk warning the world about the dangers of machines that could develop sentience, is it really worth ignoring their word?

More than that, there’s also the fact that AI can be a misnomer, Fortune notes. Aside from machines that can come to life and destroy mankind, AI can also refer to programs that have been given certain protocols that were refined over time to perform certain tasks. If that task just so happens to include stealing government secrets or crippling cyber security, it would still fit the bill.