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In a new column in the local newspaper, Falukuriren, Arend Hintze, Professor in Microdata Analysis at Dalarna University, reflects on this very question.
Based on an everyday situation, sitting in his car and waiting at a junction, he considers what would happen if AI not only followed rules but also took others into account. Can AI be friendly? And even more importantly: Can AI make us humans more considerate?
In the column, Arend talks about his research in which he and colleagues investigate how AI's behaviour affects humans. The results show that AI which blindly follows rules, or always cooperates, risks being exploited by us humans. However, when AI instead adapts its behaviour to how we act, when AI mirrors us, then we too begin to take more responsibility and cooperate more.
So, the question Arend asks us to think about is: Does it matter whether the kindness we encounter comes from a human or a machine, if the result is a more caring society?
Column in Falukuriren (in Swedish)
