Artificial Intelligence

A great ethical dilemma is presented with the advent and development of artificial intelligence, a dilemma of "logical thinking vs. moral thinking."

What we as humans consider moral and ethical thinking is often strictly objective relative to our own personal interests. As humans grow the majority of children are taught what it means to be moral based on cultural  and societal norms, but when looked at independently of our personal upbringings one can see that humans are raised with specific morals regarding what it means to be "human."

A problem that will face society in the near future is creating an intelligence that functions only logically and not "humanly" moral because when looked at objectively and logically without human based morals one could assert that our very existence isn't in the best interest of the environment or even other species. There is a growing fear among powerful figures in today's society that if an artificial intelligence gains self awareness that it would eradicate the human species for the betterment of the world.

These thoughts however bring up a great thought experiment one could have, "is my life in the best interests of myself, the human race, or the world." I don't think that I will experience problems in my lifetime with artificial intelligence, but these thoughts really allow one to look at one's life from a different angle. There's a difference between doing good for humanity and doing good for the world, and often times those interests conflict with one another, but if as a collective conscious, we could merge these interests together, I believe that we can truly grow as a species and really discover our place among the universe.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/27/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-ai-biggest-existential-threat