Is humanity already out of control?

Kevin Kelly’s book, Out of Control says we are. He suggests that neural networks, machine learning algorithms, and massive inputs of raw data, which such machines are designed to “evolve”, means that we will soon see the emergence of self-awareness and super-intelligence in machines. Every satellite feeds over a trillion data points to machines each day. Virtually the entire body of knowledge amassed by man throughout all of recorded history is available to machines connected to the Internet. There are telescopes around the globe that feed trillions of images of the universe in every observable electromagnetic wavelength to machines daily. Monitoring stations provide feedback on all data worth measuring.

Kelly says “The first ultra-intelligent machine is the last invention man need ever make.” Do you think he is right? Could it be that we have already invented it, but it is just taking time for massively parallel neural networks with self-teaching feedback loops to take all the raw data available to them and evolve the algorithms needed for sentient thought?

Given the job modern politicians are doing managing humanity, I’m not so sure this happening would be a bad thing. Could ultra-intelligent machines be the saving grace of humanity, or do you think they would spell our doom?

Machine masters would probably see destroying the planet’s ability to sustain evolving life as an unwise move. I don’t think there is any reason to assume that ultra-intelligent machines would automatically view us as their enemies, any more than we view the snail darter or the black-footed ferret as enemies of humanity. If man no longer needed to invent, and thus entrepreneurship and consumerism as they exist now became obsolete and forgotten, what would we replace them with? If machines did all the thinking needed to set the course for the future and built robots to do all the needed work, what would we do?