Ideas worth spreading

Don't fear superintelligent AI

2,985,972 views | Grady Booch • TED@IBM

New tech spawns new anxieties, says scientist and philosopher Grady Booch, but we don't need to be afraid an all-powerful, unfeeling AI. Booch allays our worst (sci-fi induced) fears about superintelligent computers by explaining how we'll teach, not program, them to share our human values. Rather than worry about an unlikely existential threat, he urges us to consider how artificial intelligence will enhance human life.

New tech spawns new anxieties, says scientist and philosopher Grady Booch, but we don't need to be afraid an all-powerful, unfeeling AI. Booch allays our worst (sci-fi induced) fears about superintelligent computers by explaining how we'll teach, not program, them to share our human values. Rather than worry about an unlikely existential threat, he urges us to consider how artificial intelligence will enhance human life.

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with IBM. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about the TED Institute.

Join the conversation regarding the existential risk of artificial intelligence with the Institute of Future Life.

Check out Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the leading organization focused on advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines.

About the speaker

Scientist, philosopher

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IBM's Grady Booch is shaping the future of cognitive computing by building intelligent systems that can reason and learn.

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About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with IBM. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about the TED Institute.

Join the conversation regarding the existential risk of artificial intelligence with the Institute of Future Life.

Check out Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the leading organization focused on advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines.