The French surgeon-urologist, author and business manager Laurent Alexandre, who has been giving numerous conferences to talk about artificial intelligence and its effects on our society, was the guest of the program “It arrived tomorrow” by David Abiker, on Europe 1. He who can be described as a “futurologist” speaks bluntly about the dangers of artificial intelligence for our society, and the actions to be taken, starting today, to protect ourselves from it. A speech that is as interesting as it is tough and sometimes alarming, but it sheds light on the reality of AI. Explanations.
AI introduces a huge social and economic challenge
What is artificial intelligence? To a question that may seem so complex and difficult to summarize, Laurent Alexandre answers in a few words, clearly:”Artificial intelligence is when computers perform tasks that were, until now, reserved for the human brain. There are several artificial intelligence techniques, and there are also a multitude of human activities that, today, are surpassed by artificial intelligence. It is an immense social and economic challenge to project ourselves into the future in order to regulate this change, this shift that makes machines capable of carrying out human tasks.“.A huge social and economic challenge? Yes, according to the specialist, AI will change the value chain in many activities, but also upset the employment balance in entire sectors. Laurent Alexandre uses two examples to illustrate his point. “Orthodontics (a specialty that consists in correcting the position of teeth) is in the process of migrating to California, a stone's throw from Google, Apple and Facebook. Thanks to a three-dimensional modeling of the jaws, an AI compares your impression with the impressions of other patients and with their treatments, to define the order of intervention on the teeth. Then, via 3D printers, it is possible to manufacture plastic gutters, sent by carriers, directly to your dentist. In a sense, the dentist will become what the health nurse is, a conduit of information. The dentist has almost disappeared from the orthodontic value chain“.Continuing with the logic of explaining that AI will “crush” entire sectors, and reshuffle the cards, Laurent Alexandre uses a second example:”In road transport, AI is going to wreak havoc. For example, in the United States, there are 3 million delivery people and truck drivers today. Autonomous trucks are going to take their place. The retraining of drivers will be a huge problem, over about twenty years... it will be necessary to reclassify people, sometimes without diplomas, who will not be able to do a similar activity... because it will no longer exist!“
A modern society sick of its artificial intelligence?
By Laurent Alexandre's own admission, what to expect from the future of our society is nothing like an idyllic picture. “We created a company with lots of data. We've created so much data that the human brain can't process it. We created a knowledge-based society, without considering the political and social consequences. People who have the ability to process data, who have a high IQ, have a huge advantage over people who don't have that agility. So we are creating an unbalanced society.“.Are we doomed to a two-tier society, with people who can “compete” with AI, and those, with less advanced knowledge and brain skills, who must stay behind? No. “AI may help improve human intelligence“. The proof, Elon Musk, director of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, created a new company called Neuralink, whose mission is to develop human brain capacities, with elements implanted in the brain. “If we don't increase our brain's abilities, we're going to become the pets of artificial intelligence. Increasing your brain is essential“decrypts Laurent Alexandre. “Democracy cannot survive IQ differences. If we have too big IQ differences, society explodes, politics explodes. I therefore believe that one of the future roles of Social Security will be to reimburse IQ differences, via these implants in the brain.”.Beyond the health aspect and societal consequences, Laurent Alexandre discusses the ways in which politics can avoid this unbalanced match between humans and AI. “Humans have to go where AI can't go. In transversal disciplines. This is where National Education should send children, and not into jobs in direct competition with AI, where it is better than us.“. Artificial intelligence brings us many challenges to overcome. Laurent Alexandre points out several of them here, and gives us food for thought about our future... Glacçant.Program to be found as a podcast on the Europe 1 radio website from minute 18': It happened tomorrow David Abiker — 04/06/17
