From “Terminator” to “The Matrix” to “A Space Odyssey”, many movies and books have told us that robots pose a threat to our way of life”, said Eileen Cole, the organiser and presenter of last night’s event in London. “Tonight – she explained –, we want to rethink this approach with professionals from the technology sector, who will explain to us how artificial intelligence can be put at the service of the common good”.
“We are still far from a world where humans will be replaced by robots”, Jaswant Sambhi warned. Indeed, “we should be cautious with those interpretations of the future, coming from literature or art, which play on our fear of being eliminated by machines. There is currently a wide interdisciplinary ethical debate on the subject”. Elena Sinel, founder of “Acorn Aspirations & Teens in AI”, an organisation promoting new technologies for youths aged 12 to 18, spoke of the great potential of this sector, while Victoria, her daughter, highlighted the lack of awareness of ethical aspects among young people. Entrepreneur David Barker, one of the first in the IT sector, said he had renounced a yearly salary of almost €180,000 when he realized that his work was widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Today, he is in charge of “Tech for Good”, an organization that works to put new technologies at the service of the common good of society.