Britain not thrilled about potential robot apocalypse
Brits are terrified of an upcoming robot apocalypse – in which androids take over the world and destroy humanity.
A survey of 2,000 Brits by leading software quality assurance firm SQS – which has been going since 1982, the same year the ZX Spectrum was launched – found that two-thirds of Brits were worried about a robot takeover in the near future.
Just over 60 percent of the 2,000 Brits polled last week said “android takeover” was a “genuine concern.”
Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking said recently that we could end up with AI developing to such a point that it was “out of the control of humans” and could end up “spelling the end of the human race.”
He said: “Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.”
Brits echoed the respected scientist – saying they were worried about humans losing control as driverless cars, humanoid domestic robots and other AI inventions become a reality.
Bosses at SQS said that the AI revolution is “unlike any previous one in history” and that if will affect us in “ways we can only imagine.”
The SQS report found that 87 percent of the 2,000 people polled were interested in buying AI technology – but just over 60 percent were worried that AI systems could be hacked into or go wrong.
It also found that 60 percent of those polled loved the idea of ‘domestic robots’ to help with the household chores, but that 75 percent of those quizzed were worried that they were “unsafe” – and could go haywire and attack them.
A total of 66 percent also said they feared self-driving cars would crash and just under 50 percent said they were worried the cars could be targeted by hackers and made to crash or alter course.
Despite the worries echoed my many of the 2,000 people polled, 46 percent were happy with voice recognition software and 40 percent said they would be happy chatting to an virtual shop assistant rather than a real person.
Sci-fi fan Richard Henderson, 45, of Great Yarmouth, said he was worried the “robot apocalypse” was coming — and said he hoped that tech experts were ensuring androids had an “off switch.”
He said: “I love technology and the advances that are being made, but having seen my share of sci-fi movies and seeing they are now becoming a reality it is a worry that the robots could take over.
“They could take our jobs, but even more worryingly they could destroy mankind.
“I don’t want to be a doom monger, but I hope the scientists are fitting all the robots with off switches.”
Bosses at SQS said that customer protection — from hackers and “robot malfunction” — should be the “overarching focus” for AI and technology firms — otherwise the firm’s reputation will slide and customer trust will be lost.
Dik Vos, CEO of SQS. said last week: “Our research proves the threat of hackers targeting AI devices has caused the UK to be reluctant in adopting such technologies, and has even caused fear that a scenario of robots malfunctioning and killing humans is likely to happen in the future.
“To reap the benefits of AI, consumer trust is paramount.”