We all watched Small Wonder and marvelled at the little robot girl when we were young. Obviously, all of us treated it as a piece of fiction and no one ever thought that it would be a possibility ever until the emergence of Augmented Intelligence came into being.

What is Augmented Intelligence

Augmented intelligence refers to coupling the human brain with that of the computers in order to enhance the performance of both. Though, the technology is still in its primary stages, there seem to be no obstacles to its growth in the near future. Hence, augmented reality is bound to grow by leaps and bounds and soon.

Augmented Intelligence

The key contributors of this concept are –

  • William Ross Ashby
  • J.C.R Licklider
  • Douglas Engalbart

These people have written detailed thesis and conducted proven experiments on the subject of Augmented Intelligence. Owing to their contributions, the technology has improvised considerably. Though, a lot of people believe augmented intelligence is still a castle in the air, there have been quite a few proven records of the same. Though, there is nothing substantial yet, one is bound to see something sooner or later, the way AI (Augmented Intelligence) is extemporizing. There are many ways of looking at this.

Augmented Intelligence aims to work in human interest

While some people think of it as a risky venture, there are others who believe it will work in favour of humanity. There are still others who think this is going against the law of nature. Whatever the thoughts are, there is no stopping the progress of AI anytime soon. It is bound to be a successful venture. Just like any other scientific research, this is also based on evidences, proofs and precise calculations. There is solid proof of the fact that human intelligence has been increasing rapidly over the years. This is called the Flynn effect. Roughly speaking, Flynn effect refers to the increase in IQ of the entire population.

Augmented Intelligence-1

The entire concept of Augmented Intelligence is a highly debated one. However, largely the idea is that it will be fascinating to have human brains synchronised to computers such that the final object works like a robot and thinks like a human being. Yes, yes, we’re all thinking on the lines of Small Wonder. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have something like that in real life as well? After all, all of us are always striving to be better human beings and this technology helps us do exactly the same thing.

Why then should one be against the concept of AI? Well, there are aplenty reasons for that too. Everything that sounds hunky-dory isn’t always so. There is a downside to everything. This can be best understood on reading the book Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age by Bill McKibben.

Thus, every coin has 2 sides is by no means a false saying and the subject matter of Augmented Intelligence proves it. Just like everything else in science, this too is both a boon and a curse. Hence, there is both an upside and a downside to it.