Robots, AI could outsmart humans in a scary future world, says author

The famous Anglo-American writer who focuses on writing about the human race can envisage a world of robots and artificial intelligence in which people are rendered virtually redundant.

Award-winning Bill Bryson, known for books such as Notes from a Small Island and A Short History of Nearly Everything, spoke about his vision of the future in a recent exclusive interview.

'Pretty good chance'

The question was put to the author: Within the space of 30 years, could Earth become a planet where AI and robots make humans redundant - and could there even be a robot author scripting a book called the Little Planet?

"I think there is probably a pretty good chance that we will (become redundant)," says Bryson, adding: "I don't mean to be pessimistic about these things but I think there is a real possibility that we could create something that would be much smarter and more capable than we are."

"It's certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility," adds Bryson, "to imagine a future when robots, artificial intelligence of some kind, could do things better than humans".

"Where they can fly airplanes better, be better doctors, be better financial analysts and be able to do all kinds of things better," Bryson predicts. "And there's no reason why they couldn't write better books than the rest of us. So, it's a kind of scary prospect that we might make ourselves all redundant."

Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything is widely acclaimed for its accessible communication of science.

Responding to the question whether Bryson could be replaced by a story-writing robot, the author says: "I just think there isn't anything that my brain does, that it does so well, that artificial intelligence couldn't duplicate. So, could I be replaced? Yes. But I mean, I don't look forward to the day. I'm not urging this to happen, but I think there's a real possibility where virtually all of us could be replaced by a robot that could do the jobs that we do."

Bryson, however, says he is certain that artificial intelligence objects of one kind or another will become great tools for the humans.