AI technology is closer to us than ever before. However, could AI pose a threat to humanity?

Data presented by Atlas VPN has found that almost half (49%) of IT professionals believe innovation in AI presents an existential threat to humanity. Despite that, many other experts see AI as a companion who helps with various tasks rather than a future enemy.

A large percentage of IT experts said that that AI will put IT jobs at risk and that innovation in AI presents an potential threat to humans.

Three out of five (62%) experts expect to work alongside intelligent robots or machines in the next five years, according to the results. On the other hand, some professionals think that AI can also cause harm, as 55% feel that AI will create major data privacy issues.

However, nearly three out of four (74%) IT professionals suggested AI will automate tasks and enable more time to focus on strategic initiatives.

Around two-thirds (67%) of respondents also said that AI will be a mission-critical element of their business strategy in the years to come.

Cybersecurity writer at Atlas VPN Vilius Kardelis commented: “The AI we have today can benefit businesses by making various tasks easier. However, that does not guarantee it is always positive.

“AI is a tool with potentially harmful consequences if used in the wrong hands. Despite this, it appears unlikely that it will pose an existential threat to humanity in the near future.”

Atlas VPN found that, in the next two years, 45% of IT professionals plan to use AI for data analytics. Furthermore, AI will be used to detect and deter security intrusions and fraud in 40% of surveyed specialists companies in the upcoming years.

One out of three (34%) IT experts plan to use AI for machine learning. Another third (31%) of professionals believe their company will use AI for transferring and cross-referencing data.

Additionally, 29% see AI helping with web and social media analytics and natural language processing in the next two years.

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In Scotland, the AI sector is booming, with hundreds of startups being founded here over the last few years, and the technology being further developed and deployed.

The National Robotarium, for example, which has now officially opened its doors, has been doing interesting research into possible future use cases for AI.

For example, a project announced in June this year at the Heriot-Watt-based facility aimed to make it easier for AIs and machines to understand spoken questions and commands from people.

Dubbed SLURP, or Spoken Language Understanding Resource Package, the new project contains data to help AIs understand human language.

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