Artificial intelligence, as a product of human intellectual development, is gaining momentum and infiltrating into all walks of life. Labeled as high-efficiency, smartness and rule-based operation, artificial intelligence is symbolic of cutting-edge technology and human civilization. In these days, debate over whether artificial intelligence can replace humans is becoming increasingly fierce. Personally, I believe humans are destined to be defeated and replaced by AI someday.
First, it goes beyond doubts that AI is smarter and more efficient in learning than humans. The striking performance of AlphaGo in the match with top players in the world proves how smart AI is and that humans cannot rival it in the aspect of intelligence. Although human intelligence is a result of long, complex evolution through improved variations and natural selection, it is not impossible that human brains will be replaced by AI. People’s recognition about brain is generally developed: thanks to the development of science and biology, we have clear understanding about brain structure, which means we are able to create a super AI that is highly simulated to human brain. As science and technology is advancing, we will have no technological barriers in the way of creating a simulated brain with similar functional structure. It can not be denied that in these days AI can not rival humans in terms of emotional sensitivity and abstract consciousness. However, when state-of-the-art artificial and biological materials are brought together in the future, technological barriers are demolished in simulating the plasticity and non-linearity of interactions among synapses so that human brain will lose its biggest advantage of emotional recognition (Wei, 2007).
Second, AI is completely rational so as to avoid all emotional mistakes, which means a number of simple, mechanical and monotonous jobs can be replaced by AI. According to the rate of technological development, up to a half of jobs would be replaced like assembly-line workers, customer services and telemarketing in the decade (Li, 2017). Robots will commit less mistakes for they follow strict rules. AI’s high efficiency can be fully shown by assembly-line work that calls for rule-based working process. Products manufactured by AI can be clearer and mistake-freer than the hand-made.
Besides, in the process of hand making, workplace safety is also an important issue but in an automatic environment of AI, workplace safety is not that necessary and AI environment can prevent more workers from dangers, say high-altitude operations. And robots are more positioned for strength-consuming jobs including cargo handling. In this sense, it is natural to say that AI is more competent for risky or rule-based jobs. Looking forward, with industrial rules becoming more and more segmented and improved, AI will be gaining advantage through clearer rules. In the long run, humans will be replaced by AI with the development of industrial rules.
Third, with uninterrupted development of science and technology, AI will be more and more competent so as to build up their own regime and system, which are more efficient than humans’, as evidenced by simulated brain. It is worth mentioning that the goal of AI is not simply doing monotonous work to save labor force, but making machines learn and think like humans. In recent years, deep learning methods are widely applied in computer data acquisition, storage and calculation (Hagan, et al., 2002) so that a number of sectors emerged like cloud and big data that serve as technological support for AI to form its own network and database.
And this indicates how human-like AI begins to target at specific demands with the help of information sharing and big data so that those human-like robots show humanities. When science and technology make adequate progress, it is possible that AI robots can share a network and build up their own regime. Once an AI-centered network or regime is built up, it would seem “frightening” to humans because such regime is more efficient than humans’ social system and can threaten it.
Forth, AI poses challenges to human resources and will occupy labor opportunities so that an increasing number of population will be replaced and finally weeded out. It is a “side effect” of excessive development of AI. When AI robots take jobs stably in society, businesses would hire less employees. In addition, when AI robots do more jobs, besides assembly-line work, like journalists (Miroshnichenko, 2018), or even significant roles or positions in life like babies or pets, AI will be replacing humans because it can draw “emotional investment”, as evidenced by the popularity of AI dogs, birds, trees and dynamic furnishings (Chen, 2018). If robots replace real lives, the birth of real lives would take a hit because people’s wishes to raise a baby or a pet have been met.
As is shown above, AI is superior to humans in terms of intelligence and efficiency and has potential to rival humans with regard to setting up their own system of sharing. It also can contribute to low birth rate of population, moving faster to AI’s completely replacing humans. Generally speaking, humans are destined to be replaced by AI when science and technology are advanced enough. It is just a matter of time.