White House reveals the real dangers of A.I. - Are YOU safe?

'In a number of fields, technology is substituting for labor, and this has dramatic consequences for middle class jobs and incomes.'

Robots help make life easier. It's a fact most science fiction writers picked up on decades ago and many see today. With self-driving cars, improved medical techniques and even A.I. girlfriends, the world is preparing to rely more heavily on A.I. and robots while lower-income jobs become phased out.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - On Wednesday the White House released a report outlining the future of artificial intelligence, predicted regulatory challenges, future job losses and US cyber defenses.

The document, titled "Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence," includes a letter from Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Director John P. Holdren reading:

"Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology have opened up new markets and new opportunities for progress in critical areas such as health, education, energy, and the environment. In recent years, machines have surpassed humans in the performance of certain specific tasks, such as some aspects of image recognition.

"Experts forecast that rapid progress in the field of specialized artificial intelligence
will continue. Although it is very unlikely that machines will exhibit broadly-applicable intelligence
comparable to or exceeding that of humans in the next 20 years, it is to be expected that machines will reach and exceed human performance on more and more tasks."

The letter continues, stating the United States has provided the following report to survey the current state of AI and offers recommendations for Federal agencies if and when further action is needed.

The gist is simple: AI is taking over and several low-wage jobs are now in danger.

The report was created by the NSTC's Subcommittee on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, which was chartered this May.

The letter concluded: "In the coming years, AI will continue to contribute to economic growth and will be a valuable tool for improving the world, as long as industry, civil society, and government work together to develop the positive aspects of the technology, manage its risks and challenges, and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to help in building an AI-enhanced society and to participate in its benefits."

The executive summary stated the use of AI and research and development (R&D) has shown major benefits in:

• Health care
• Transportation
• The environment
• Criminal justice and
• Economic inclusion

The government reported AI R&D requires "the growth of a skilled, diverse workforce" and explained Federally-funded AI R&D will require "a highly-trained workforce."

So what does this all mean?

Throughout the report, the need for a "skilled, diverse workforce" is repeated again and again, in reference to a need for engineers, computer programmers, etc.

Why the push for these skills?

Because low-income jobs will be obsolete. Rather than focusing on the ill effects of the lower class, the government is stressing the importance of skilled workers and lightly hinting that people need to find their technological niche.

The report admits: "Many areas of public policy, from education and the economic safety
net, to defense, environmental preservation, and criminal justice, will see new opportunities and new
challenges driven by the continued progress of AI.

"...If computers could exert control over many critical systems, the result could be havoc, with humans no longer in control of their destiny at its best and extinct at its worst. This scenario has long been the subject of science fiction series, and recent pronouncements from some influential industry leaders have highlighted these fears."

In 2013, Oxford University conducted a study to estimate the number of US jobs AI will endanger.

The study found 47 percent of all US jobs will be at risk of extinction as AI replaces low and mid-wage positions.

In China, 40,000 robots have been deployed to factories in an effort to reduce the number of human workers. The robots, created at Foxconn, are expected to eventually replace human labor.

In fact, Foxconn's Kunshan factory has reported a cut of 60,000 employees already and plans to enter the medical and health workforce soon.

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