The development of artificial intelligence could spell the
end of the human race, Professor Stephen Hawking has said.
The famous astrophysicist said he believed technology would
eventually become self-aware and supersede humanity, as it developed faster
than biological evolution.
Hawking told the BBC: “The primitive forms of artificial
intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the
development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human
race.”
Hawking – who as a result of his motor neurone disease is
almost totally paralysed – also spoke of how he had received a “life-changing
upgrade” to the computer software that allows him to communicate.
Hawking now uses a system that incorporates predictive text,
allowing him to type twice as quickly as before and send emails ten times
faster.
“I was finding it very difficult to continue to communicate
effectively and so do the things I love to do,” he told a press conference in
London for the launch of the new Intel software platform.
“With the improvements made, I am now able to write much
faster and that means I can continue to give lectures, write papers and books,
and, of course, speak with my family and friends more easily.
“Medicine has not been able to cure me, so I rely on
technology to help me communicate and live,” he said.
Hawking has chosen to retain his familiar, slightly robotic
sounding voice despite being offered something more natural.
“We are pushing the boundaries of what is possible through
technology – without it I would not be able to speak to you today,” he said.
“Intel’s research and development is bringing about changes in the world and in
the way that disabled people can communicate.”
Hawking has been in partnership with Intel for over 25
years. His MND is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was diagnosed in
1961, when he was 21, and given just two years to live. He turned 72 on 8
January 2014.
This is the first upgrade to his communications system for
nearly 20 years. “I hope it will serve me well for the next 20 years,” he said.
The new ease with which Hawking speaks belies the effort he
needs to expend to create even the simplest sentence. In order to be heard, he
must first write a sentence using only a single muscle in his cheek, which is then
sent to a voice processor.
To use the Intel software, an infrared sensor attached to
his glasses allows Hawking to control the software by moving the muscle in his
cheek. As he selects letters, predictive text offers him options for completing
the word, which speeds up the process.
Using these predictions, he now needs to key only about
15-20 percent of the characters in any document. It has doubled his writing
speed, which had gradually fallen to less than a word a minute after he lost
the use of his hands and had to give up using a hand switch.
The software will be released to developers and researchers
in January 2015, and will be made freely available to anyone who wishes to
download it.
“Opening a document used to take 3-4 minutes. The new system
uses a specific icon and takes about 10 seconds,” said Lama Nachman, principal
engineer and project Leader at Intel. She spent many hours working with Hawking
as he tested the software.
“I think he likes finding the bugs,” said Nachman,
describing how he would smile every time he found a glitch in their
Windows-based software.
“This software has the ability to help a much larger
community of disabled people. So, to make that happen we decided to open-source
the software. We are going to offer it for free to people from January next year,”
said Nachman.
There are three million people afflicted with MND and
quadriplegia. The software has been designed in a modular way that makes it
customisable. It could be controlled by touch, eye blinks, eyebrow movements
and other gestures. This means it could be tailored to the specific needs of
other users.
[BBC]
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