From the Terminator, The Matrix and I, Robot we have explored all possible matters relating to the dangers of Artificial Intelligence through social entertainment so much so, that it has made us numb to its effects on our minds or our world in general. We understand its complex dangers to our well-being, yet we seem drawn to consistently keep pushing the frontiers of that world by playing God in hopes of advancing our self-sustainment for generations beyond our own, or maybe we are seeking our creator.

Its coincidental rise is not far-fetched with everything else associated with the world we live in. A world that includes virtual reality which is forever building stories and memories behind our lives without our realization. Augmented reality is just a bridge into the long-standing Matrix that is the Internet forever forging new worlds through social apps.

We can’t seem to separate the real from the fake anymore because the fake world has a sweet beauty about it. Where our dreams become real, where we can be whoever we want to be, we yearn for those moments so badly, that some of us have made it our new reality. Everybody knows the phrase ‘social media is not real’ but how many people are aware of it, the discrepancy between the real and the fake is partially why mental health problems are such a huge factor in our current times.

There is an overabundance of socializing that we do which doesn’t involve interacting with other humans in real life, the expectations that come with what we see online as reality are funnily enough, unrealistic. The strange thing about human behaviour is how easy it is to deceive the human mind. We all know that the life most people portray online is fake, but we can’t seem to avoid comparing, competing and trying to mirror other people’s lives albeit unconsciously sometimes; this has come to the detriment of our psychological health.

It’s like destiny, we are predicting our own future. While we know where we’re going there isn’t much we can do to stop the journey we’re on. The World Wide Web was officially launched at the turn of the new millennium in 1993, not long after Google became a public space that would dominate the world from 1999 just before social media would become the new norm.

From the very first remnants of the computer, every technological advancement we have made since then has led to A.I. The social proof is right in our faces, we have documented the dangers for over 50 years through movies, television and documentaries talking about how, when, how, and why A.I. will eventually take over and try to eliminate us, yet we continue to keep going in the same direction we fear.

To completely criminalize everything in this world is not entirely fair though. The pure technological advancement it has brought to us is groundbreaking and we’re only in its infancy, making life so simple, that complex tasks have been turned into easy activities that don’t require more than a few clicks. Medical research, manufacturing, education, and so many other industries have benefited from the internet and AI. Everything associated with it has helped humanity reach new frontiers and maybe this is why we can’t help ourselves but to conform.

For every groundbreaking leap we have taken exploring artificial intelligence, we have also gained new risks and more questions than answers. It’s a mirage we still haven’t figured out yet. The only real question is how long will the good outweigh the bad before it becomes a real concern to us?