Age of AI

 In the video we watched they discussed a Chinese technology company called Megvii. Megvii is a facial recognition software that uses AI to be able to recognize a face within 0.1 second. The use of Megvii in China has expanded to allow individuals to pay for groceries and goods with just their faces. Megvii even takes pictures of those who jaywalk, identifies them, and fines them for the act. While this seems like a helpful tool all Megvii is doing is aiding in the the implementation of mass surveillance. While mass surveillance can have its upsides in criminal cases and in issues of national security, in every other aspect is it a violation of privacy. Imagine a world where you can't step foot out your front door without having pictures taken of you on every street, that's exactly what is like to live in China right now. Not only are they taking pictures of you but Megvii has allowed them to almost instantly learn your identity. 

This frightens me because this technology in the hands of the wrong person could have detrimental effects. For example, say someone testifies against a drug lord and is then placed in witness protection but, the drug lord's friends gain access to similar or the same technology. Now that person in witness protection is in grave danger. In order for situations like this to not arise I think there should be heavy stipulations placed on what AI technology is given to the public and what remains only in the hands of the government for national security measures. 

A statement within the video that shocked me was the assertion that most fields at risk of elimination thanks to AI are predominantly female fields like Human Resources and Marketing. I found this so interesting because in my mind the first jobs that AI would take over would have been factory jobs, technological positions, and clerical work. Marketing and Human Resources both require a human element to succeed, humans know how to market to humans and humans know how to deal with humans. I think a way to combat job loss from AI would be to force corporations to pay hefty taxes on AI technology and robots in order to encourage keeping humans in the workplace.