AI and Robotics are creating a buzz everywhere and the UK Pavilion at the Kolkata Book Fair joined the stream with a discussion on the trending topics.
Robert Potts, educator and researcher in creative digital design at the School of Digital Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University, delivered a talk on New Creative Worlds: AI and Robotics at the Frontier of Innovation.
He covered various points about the origin and concepts of artificial intelligence, how it is used and how it can be misused. From the creation of deep fakes to AI-generated voice samples to the usage of platforms like Chat GPT, Robert touched on various subjects that had the audience hooked at the sheer positive and negative outcomes possible through the use of AI. Add to that robotics and the question of robotic armies using AI always comes up to which Robert added some insight.
Potts discussed the evolution of technology and how far it has come since the inception of artificial intelligence
The biggest insight Potts had for the audience was that engaging with AI and learning about it and how to use it could be the only solution to overcoming the fear they have of AI when it comes to the aspect of jobs being lost to the inflow of AI in big companies that are producing quicker results. “We need to adapt to it, we need to find different ways to work around AI because it could be a tool that could help us achieve quite a lot if used correctly. Technology will continue to evolve and we need to understand it and evolve with it to ensure we aren’t left in a place where AI can function without the input of human touch.”
‘Engaging with AI will help us stay ahead and use it to our advantage’
My Kolkata caught up with Potts to find out about his experience of the city. “I love walking around the city, taking in the sights and smells, what I’ve enjoyed the most are the conversations. I love discovering culture through conversations with people of the city and Kolkata has stood out to me in how diverse it is. The feeling of inclusivity and a lot of cultural diversity will be the best take away for me from this short trip,” said Potts, who was on his first visit to Kolkata.
Asked a slightly fictional question, about the possibility of a World War breaking out based on deep fake videos created of world leaders saying controversial things with extremely difficult to distinguish videos, Potts said: “It isn’t the most far-fetched idea. The ones who have engaged with AI as a manipulative tool will surely find a way to create such videos to entice hostility including creating documents that will back such plans but I know that there are people working to decode and trace such AI-generated videos and documents to its origin. It is very difficult to cover up a digital footprint and given the power of AI its negative uses can be countered properly with decoders that are made for the purpose of identifying the real from the fake.”
Potts left us with the valuable message that adaptability and self-education are key in ensuring that we work with AI instead of letting it do our work, the less we know about a tool the more likely we are to have it replace all our jobs. “The idea is to gain knowledge of AI to use it to our benefit instead of allowing it to replace us.”
