Beware the rise of the black box algorithm

ONE of the ways my partner and I are well-suited is that we both like board games, and I am not very good at them. This helps, because my partner is a gracious winner but an appalling loser. Once, in her early teens, during a game of draughts with her sister, she responded to an unwinnable position by turning over the table.

If artificial intelligence does destroy human life, it will almost certainly be more like my partner’s reaction to defeat than the destructive intelligence from the Terminator films. Catastrophe will come not when a sophisticated intelligence decides to use its power for deliberate evil, but when the easiest way to fulfil its programming and to “win” is to turn over the table.

The threat that artificial intelligence will cause some kind of societal disaster is, of course, a reason we should worry about research, ethics and transparency. But this focus on the potential for catastrophe can sometimes distract from the more mundane dangers. If your Satnav directs you towards the edge of a cliff, as it did in 2009, when Robert Jones was convicted for not driving with due care and attention, then it is not a societal-level tragedy. But it may be a personal one if it leads you to lose your life, your job or even just your driving licence.