By Rahul Kurien
An engineer’s job is to push ahead, to construct, to build, to ideate, and to innovate the world as we see around us. During this process, however, the engineer rarely thinks to look back, to reflect, and to consider the consequences caused by the actions that they take.
The simple statement not only expresses my sentiment on the conception of engineering but also somewhat of reality as individuals in a struggle to find a solution to disregard the process. It is so to speak, “an end justifying a means”. But I am not writing this to illustrate the philosophical discrepancies among those who pursue engineering, but simply wish to show some interesting instance were crossing the line has had everlasting repercussions.
Regarding repercussions, one set of repercussions that remains pertinent throughout history is the development of weaponry. From engineering light handguns that enable murder, to massive bombs that are the roots of genocides. Our history is filled with conflict between warring tribes, people, and nations. It could be argued that life on Earth is the very product of an ongoing endless war between species and individuals since time immemorial. Our nature for war is, in some part, hardwired into us as a product of our evolution. While some disagree with this statement, others consider the point that technological innovations in science and engineering are sometimes a product of war.
Which brings me back to my initial point on engineering, that those who design and build things that will potentially take the lives of many people when used as intended. This consideration or lack thereof is not only a product of an individual's moral code by the ethics of the field of engineering itself.
From this perspective, the "problem," if there is one, is with the operator, not the thing. Of course, without massively destructive things, like nuclear and bioweapons, people wouldn't be able to kill with impunity and "ease." This point arises not because humans are intolerant of war but of the individuals and objects at the root of the war. Through the famous example of the development of the atom bomb, the bomb itself and its operator are considered “evil”, but isn't the current state of nuclear physics a direct result of this tragic event? The answer to this is not that war does not push forward engineering and vice versa, but that is engaging in the act of pushing the “boundary” engineers are inevitably discovering things that could contribute to this cycle. This point is reflected in other incidents throughout the history of engineering such as in the very relevant issue of artificial intelligence.
As one of the frontrunners of modern industry, computer scientists and engineers sometimes not only fail to consider their actions but to consider the field if of itself. I am not by any means implying this will lead to some George Orwell 1984 dystopia, but that the imposition of fabricated intelligence could not only impact individuals but communities as well.
As one of modern engineering’s brightest minds Elon musk states, “As AI gets probably much smarter than humans, the relative intelligence ratio is probably similar to that between a person and a cat, maybe bigger,”. Additionally stating that “I do think we need to be very careful about the advancement of AI.”
However as Vox states, “Musk is hardly alone in sounding the alarm, though. AI scientists at Oxford and at UC Berkeley, luminaries like Stephen Hawking, and many of the researchers publishing groundbreaking results agree with Musk that AI could be very dangerous. They are concerned that we’re eagerly working toward deploying powerful AI systems, and that we might do so under conditions that are ripe for dangerous mistakes. If we take these concerns seriously, what should we be doing? People concerned with AI risk vary enormously in the details of their approaches, but agree on one thing: We should be doing more research.” This statement only furthers the exploration of the question, will a product of engineering inevitably come around to cause harm? And is the only factor restraining this potential engineering catastrophe more engineering?
Through these parallel scenarios, we not only see the qualms of engineering both modern and historical but are able to explore the perception of those behind the devices’ creation. The intention is never to cause harm, that is simply a byproduct. The field of engineering, being one that inherently strives to progress in the face of moral dilemmas, is probably also the one that is capable of solving those dilemmas. Consider this, the only possible solution to a dominant AI is another engineering marvel that counters it. This scenario, although reminiscent of the second Avengers movie, tries to examine both sides of engineering: the root of the solution and the answer to it. And through this article, with its references and off-topic instances, hopefully, consideration of engineering, and individuals that engage in it, will examine the issues on both sides of the event.
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