José María Álvarez-Pallete, the former president of Telefonica, the largest communication company in Spain, has shared a personal reflection on his LinkedIn profile about the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence. Álvarez-Pallete discusses the impact that the use of artificial intelligence is having on humans. He stated that in seven years, the impact that AI will have on humanity will be 70 times greater than that of the steam engine in the 1970s.
Why does he say this? He relies on the legend of Sissa regarding the origin of chess to explain that humans do not have the capacity to think exponentially. Just as the king in the legend did not have the exponential capacity to calculate all the grains of rice he would need to place, humans will not be able to think exponentially to assimilate the consequences, use, and functioning of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
According to the European Parliament’s website, artificial intelligence is the ability of a machine to exhibit the same capabilities as humans, such as reasoning, learning, creativity, and the ability to plan. Artificial intelligence feeds off our questions, self-reinforces, learns from its mistakes, and is capable of resolving conflicts quickly and effectively. Without a doubt, it is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, technological revolution that humanity has ever faced.
Artificial intelligence, do we really understand it?
Despite the fact that we all make use of artificial intelligence to a greater or lesser extent, are we really aware of how it works? Do we understand the consequences of its use, the impact it has on our lives, and above all, the speed at which it advances and how it will affect us in the future? Experts believe the answer to all these questions is no. There is massive and global use of apps with artificial intelligence, without fully understanding how they work and what it implies.
Legend of Sissa
Do you know the legend of Sissa? It tells the story of a king who mourned the loss of his son in battle. He couldn’t find a way to feel better, so he turned to his council of wise men. He asked them to create a game that would keep him entertained, teach him something new, and help him overcome his grief. Sissa, one of the wise men of his court, thus invented chess.
Through this game, he learned the importance of strategy and it kept him entertained. In exchange for this, the wise man only asked him for one thing: to place one grain of wheat on the first square of the chessboard, two on the second, three on the third, and so on until all 64 squares were filled. The king agreed, and when he started counting the grains, he realized that there were a total of 1,200 billion tons of wheat.
What does Álvarez-Pallete say?
Álvarez-Pallete uses the legend of Sissa to explain the human inability to think exponentially. According to Pallete, “We are programmed to think in a much more linear way.” He explained that, according to studies, the impact that AI will have in 7 years will be 70 times greater than the impact of the arrival of the steam engine. It is not just an observation, but a concern. He argues that as a society, we are not prepared to understand or process the speed at which technology, specifically artificial intelligence, is advancing.
The consequences of not keeping pace with advancements will bring a series of outcomes (almost as is happening today), for which, according to experts, societies are not prepared and will not know how to manage. Do you think we will reach the point where we completely stop understanding how the world works?