Ryan Bridge: Can we trust AI?

The robots are coming, and they reckon they'll be better than us humans at doing difficult, complex stuff - like being a doctor.  Microsoft announced overnight "an artificial intelligence system that performs better than human doctors at complex health diagnoses".  That's according to the Guardian, who say the company's AI unit is creating a “path to medical super-intelligence”. So, Microsoft reckons their robot system “solved” more than eight of ten case studies. The question you then start asking yourself is: do you trust AI to make important health decisions like that? Even though doctors don't always get it right, the thought of a computer deciding my fate is just weird.  But if it's shown to work reliably, and it's accurate, I suppose why not?  China meanwhile is into the robots, big time.  A company there wants a humanoid robot cleaning our dishes and washing our clothes in a matter of years. They want one robot for every home.  This, I can get onboard with.  But you've got ask, with the robots apparently taking over lots of jobs, what are we going to do once they've completed their mission? 77% of companies are either using AI in business or actively trying to. Year-on-year growth of more than 100%. 77% of all devices being used have some form of AI.  I get why it's happening in everything from health to housework, it's far more efficient. But with all the work being done by others, what's left to occupy our time? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.