A recent call to a supplier to pay a bill by credit card reminded me of attending conferences by The Futurist Group and one of their predictions. I am no expert, nor have I been an avid follower of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but my credit card experience convinced me I should start paying attention. I am positive I was served by a robotic voice which I can’t explain on paper, but it was not human. I likely will never pay my account on the phone again and I am now directing some attention to exploring Artificial Intelligence.
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In one of my Futurist publications from the late ’90s, much time was spent discussing production of a ‘thinking machine’, along with ‘A Future of Personal Robots’. Most thought a ‘true thinking machine’ was a long way off or ‘never will be’, and while personal robots may be able to do more than humans, they could also cause a plethora of problems. Even the Ladies Home Journal in 1900 weighed in on the ‘Next Hundred Years’ with related possibilities. The Futurist Group no longer offers conferences. But here we are in 2024, experiencing a taste of Artificial Intelligence. My collection of books oft refers to AI as a new generation of ‘robber barons’ being a present danger to the world.
