Do You Trust A.I.?
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is big right now. But something about A.I. doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe I'm too old school, but I don't trust it. A.I. seems to be lauded as the way of the future, but I have dabbled in ChatGPT and found it lacking. The results I got, while impressive in some ways, were riddled with errors and inconsistencies that made me wonder "If it got that wrong, what else is wrong that I haven't detected?" But I think that I am starting to piece together my issues with A.I., with a little help from some books I have been reading recently.
In the book "Zero to One" by Peter Thiel, he addresses a question that has been around for a while "Will my job be taken over by a machine?" His response is essentially no. His reasoning is that humans and machines are different, and even complimentary. An example he references is a 2012 project by Google where a supercomputer scanned 10 million YouTube thumbnails and was able to positively identify a cat in the thumbnails with 75% accuracy. "That seems impressive" he says, "-until you remember that an average four-year-old can do it flawlessly. When a cheap laptop beats the smartest mathematicians at some tasks but even a supercomputer with 16,000 CPUs can’t beat a child at others, you can tell that humans and computers are not just more or less powerful than each other–they’re categorically different." (Chapter 12: Man and Machine) Humans and computers/machines/A.I. are very different, and I don't think humans will ever be completely replaced by them. Humans can’t process huge amounts of data like computers can, but they are really good at thinking outside the box. A.I. thinks inside the box, a box that was created for them by humans. My experience with A.I., as limited as it is, taught me that A.I. follows rules, and it is only as good as the rules it has been provided with (by humans).
Which leads me to my next point. In the book "Leaders Ear Last" by Simon Sinek, he makes the point that rules are important for making sure things operate smoothly during normal operation. But humans know when to break the rules. The example he gives in his book is an air traffic controller dealing with an airplane in an emergency. The air traffic controller knows the rules about airspace and required clearances to other planes in the area. But he also knows there is an emergency happening with human lives on the line. Breaking restricted airspace and clearance requirements saved everyone onboard flight KH209 in 2012. If the air traffic was being controlled by A.I. I don’t think the outcome would have been the same. Simon Sinek says “We cannot ‘trust’ rules or technology. We can rely on them, for sure, but trust them? No.” “True trust can only exist among people. And we can only trust others when we know they are actively and consciously concerned about us. A technology, no matter how sophisticated, doesn’t care about us at all–it simply reacts to a set of variables. And the rulebook, no matter how comprehensive, cannot consider every eventuality.” (Chapter 9: The Courage to Do the Right Thing)
My experience with A.I. has reflected that statement by Simon Sinek. If I ask A.I. a question, it answers in the most literal way possible, because it doesn’t understand the meaning and context behind my question. It follows the rules with no latitude for creativity. And for that reason, I don’t trust it. In the future I may use it as a tool to accomplish a specific task, but I don’t think A.I. will ever replace humans.
About the Author: Cameron Orr has worked as a consulting mechanical engineer for over 17 years. He has also worked as an expert witness for over 9 years. He has been retained on over 70 cases, testified in deposition 11 times, and testified at trial one time. His expertise is heavy equipment and machines, such as forklifts, boom lifts, cranes, saws, presses, and the like. If you need an expert witness for case involving machinery of any kind, contact Sambria Engineering and Expert Services and talk with Cameron. He will be honest and upfront with you about your case.