Artificial intelligence may drive us up the wall
Increasing automation could aggravate problems that already exist, say data scientists
By Jesus Alcocer
If an autonomous car drives into a wall and injures its passengers, who is responsible? As devices start claiming increased autonomy, we face moral, legal and physical risks for which we don’t even have names yet.
Perhaps we should start being more realistic about the prospects of a world dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
“Look, just because something is new and shiny, it doesn’t mean it will solve existing problems or create new ones,” says Anthony Scriffignano, chief data scientist at commercial data and analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet.
There’s no guarantee that even if these technologies are adopted we will be better off today. “When you have new ways of doing things, you have new ways of cheating or at least people trying to find new ways to cheat,” Mr Scriffignano says.
“Imagine you receive a payment with a stolen credit card. There is more of trail where that transaction happened if it occurred over the internet, than if someone just walked up to your business and used your square terminal.”
Fintech crime doesn’t always have to be sophisticated, he says: “Someone sees on Facebook that you are about to go on vacation, and he or she orders something they never intend to pay for to your house, and picks it up from your porch. The company that has not been paid will come after you.”
