Speaker cautions the future of artificial intelligence

Documentarian James Barrat lectured on artificial intelligence in the Modlin Center for the Arts in front of a crowd of roughly 200 people yesterday as part of the Weinstein-Rosenthal Forum on Faith, Ethics and Global Society. Barrat bleakly depicted how the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence, or AI, could potentially devastate the human race. AI refers to computer systems that perform tasks usually requiring human intelligence. In recent years, large organizations such as Google, Apple and the National Security Agency have poured billions of dollars into researching and developing an AI equivalent to that of a human being, Barrat said. "Virtual brains at the price of a computer will be the most lucrative invention in modern history," Barrat said, but he warned that they were a serious gamble for mankind because of their destructive power.