Bringing the question of AI into schools

Through its HAL Programme, Cork’s Technology Network aims to start a conversation among children about the implications of technology, writes Helen O’Callaghan

Bringing the question of AI into schools

Through its HAL Programme, Cork’s Technology Network aims to start a conversation among children about the implications of technology, writes Helen O’Callaghan

There’s a scene of full-blown horror in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, when astronaut David Bowman realises the machine is in control.

In the futuristic movie, HAL is the central robot computer meant to help the humans in all aspects of their Jupiter mission, including monitoring three astronauts in hibernation. Though suspected of having some problems, HAL is able to take control of the mission, in the process killing the hibernating astronauts and cutting off oxygen to another.

Panic rising, but struggling to remain calm, the last surviving astronaut repeatedly exhorts HAL to open the door.

The mechanical, polite responses of the robot are chillingly relentless: “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that… this mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardise it.”

HAL is immovable, because what is there to appeal to? This robotic entity has no imagination to see a different solution, no human emotion, such as compassion, no appeal even to reason, because HAL believes it’s superior to humans: “The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made… foolproof and incapable of error.”

The 50th anniversary of the ground-breaking movie has sparked a new initiative to stimulate discussion among soon-to-be-teens on artificial intelligence and deep learning, as well as the controls and information we give devices/computers in our everyday lives. The ‘HAL’ Programme is being rolled out to primary schools by CEIA, Cork’s Technology Network.

Valerie Cowman, chair of CEIA’s skills and education committee, says we must become more aware we’re giving devices an incredible amount of personal data, as well as giving machines massive control.

“Our young people are growing up where this is normal practice. This [CEIA] initiative is about giving students the opportunity to reflect on the control and information that we freely hand over, about examining some of the potential outcomes in society as we give more and more to machines and machine-learning.”

From Siri on the iPhone helping you find your destination to Alexa turning on/off the heating, from social media to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly mainstream. It has myriads of upsides, anything from route planning to language translation, to new drugs testing. AI has huge potential, says Cowman.

“Elderly people finding it difficult to live at home alone could use AI to enhance their ability to live independently. AI in agriculture has potential to make farming much easier. Driverless cars could take people to/from the pub, making roads safer, resulting in fewer accidents.”

However, what if it’s a hybrid car that could be put in robotic or manual mode? Suppose the car’s owner wants to put it in manual mode, but the robot refuses, because “it’s not 12 hours since you went to a social event”, and the standard set by society is you can’t put your car in manual mode until 12 hours after you’ve been out socially.

“We must consider the amount of power we want to give these devices. Where will the control ultimately lie? Amazon is trialling a system where you give access to your home for a parcel to be dropped off. That’s convenient – but you have to ask – at what price?” says Cowman, explaining that the HAL schools programme aims to start a conversation.

“In our kids’ lives, rate of change in technology will be huge. Stuff we think of as science fiction will be there in reality, but who decides what’s done? Do we want to be involved in forming that opinion or do we want it to just happen? AI is out there. It’s wonderful, but we need to think about what we want it to do versus what we want to do ourselves.”

After all, says Cowman, human beings are flawed, which poses a question in the face of efficient AI. “Do we want to reach a point where the machine tells us everything? Google Alexa could be a chip inserted in your brain. Who’d control it? The Government, Facebook, Google?”

Niall, a 15-year-old TY student, is aware almost every device has some form of AI.

“I might sound paranoid, but I’m concerned: Is AI listening to what we’re saying, gathering information for companies so it can create customised apps for our devices? Like you’re looking for a Man United jersey and 15 minutes later you’re on Facebook and you see ads for them,” says Niall, who isn’t worried about a Terminator scenario (AI set to spark nuclear holocaust).

“AI is only ever going to get as smart as humans. Unless we post extremely sensitive stuff online, it’s never going to become like the Terminator.”

However, Boston-based Future of Life Institute (FLI) — a charity working to ensure ’s powerful technologies benefit humanity — points out that while AI today is known as narrow AI (designed to perform narrow tasks, eg only driving a car, only facial recognition), long-term, many researchers want to create general AI. This would outperform humans in almost every cognitive task. FLI’s concern about advanced AI isn’t malevolence but competence.

“Super-intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals. If those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we have a problem.”

FLI poses thought-provoking questions about AI. What sort of future do you want? What would you like to happen with job automation? Do you prefer new jobs replacing old ones, or jobless society where everyone enjoys life of leisure? Would you like if we created super-intelligent life, spreading it through the cosmos? Will we control intelligent machines? Will they control us? What will it mean to be human in age of AI?

For Cowman, the HAL concept was a warning still valid today. As technology permeates our world, she sees us at a new frontier of ethics and risk assessment. She wants students on CEIA’s HAL programme to think more profoundly about technology and automation, to see the opportunities but also the challenges.

Visit www.ceia.ie

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