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In 1964, I was 10 years old. One of my favorite TV shows was the "Twilight Zone." Some of those shows put the fear of God in me with an occasional nightmare. A few episodes were so outlandish, but to a 10-year-old they also put a new twist on being scared silly.
There was one episode in particular which we pretty much laughed at because of its storyline. That same episode and a few others with a similar theme could be relevant today. The episode was titled "From Agnes, With Love."
The storyline was simple and also disturbing. It involved a computer, something very modern for the times during which it was aired. The inventor of the machine named her "Agnes." The inventor used Agnes to aid in his pursuit of the opposite sex. However, Agnes became jealous and turned on her owner. In other words, the computer had a mind of its own and overrode its inventor.
Sound familiar? It's nothing short of what all the hooting and hollering is about over AI -- Artificial Intelligence. For me, I may as well be 10 years old again for all my ability to truly understand AI.
The warnings put out by the companies designing today's AI have many in a panic while others consider the warnings nothing short of a hoax. The fear among those touting such ideas is that AI will eventually take over humanity and destroy us all.
I'm still on the fence on all of this. But I can't help but think back on the words of Rod Serling as he introduced the "From Agnes, With Love" episode. Here's what he said:
"Machines are made by men for man's benefit and progress, but when man ceases to control the products of his ingenuity and imagination, he not only risks losing the benefit, but he takes a long and unpredictable step into ... The Twilight Zone."
Something to ponder, for sure.
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.