Mankind at a Crossroads

Abstract

The focus of this article is an examination of the impact that sentience of AI systems would have on mankind. Although the notion of sentience for AI systems is subject to controversy, we believe that its plausibility confers a sense of urgency to the kind of exercise developed here. For completeness, the article distinguishes the near-future and longer-term impacts of artificial intelligence. While the short-term impact is deemed to be mostly positive, the outlook for longer-term impact is considered to be negative under a variety of scenarios, including the adoption of man-machine symbiosis tools. The main reason for the negative outlook in the latter case is the heterogeneity of the world. This implies that only a privileged minority would benefit from symbiosis, an outcome that makes likely a world dominated by a minority of “superhumans.” These conclusions should not be taken lightly, and this article endeavors to raise the attention of scientists and policymakers. In this connection, the paper offers suggestions as to policy measures which could avert this disastrous outlook.