The future of humans has taken an inexorable turn in the direction of artificial intelligence. The smartest species on earth have consistently and almost unanimously continued to make decisions that would inevitably result in not only his extinction but the possible end of his home planet: the only one with the proven existence of life. It has fallen on the shoulders of the few to devise a way to save the whole of humanity and, hopefully, renew the status of the planet.

But this can only be done with the help of super-intelligent and entirely logical creations to help curtail the wrong decisions of the many and possibly undo, redo, or outright prevent the destructive actions of man.

A car that automatically slows down at intersections when driven by an intoxicated driver, or a road that works with vehicles on it to prevent the death of a stray animal or happy child playing on the road, yet; unseen by the driver.

What if we could have snack dispensers that checked the body nutrient requirements of the individuals before dispensing to them? Or a home that could tell you when your body has unusual changes, early enough to detect the first cancer cells.

Imagine a world where harmful carbon emissions are automatically captured by the components of the buildings closest to them and converted into harmless forms. Shower usages, timed to minimize water consumption and reduce energy and resource wastage. Leaky gas pipes are automatically shut off. Faulty devices and electricity outlets are automatically fixed or shut down until they are fixed.

The world where burglars are automatically shut out of the buildings by an intelligent alarm system that has been wired to the biometrics of all inhabitants of the home and requires a calm biometric response by a recognized occupant to admit any strangers. A home that could call for help if there are alarming changes in pulse and heart rate or any other indicator of panic or apprehension in its inhabitants.

The world where the average humans have access to enough artificial intelligence to give them a fair chance at a healthy comfortable life. A system which runs entirely autonomously in the voting polls of third world countries, which would bring about the possibility of real democracy in the third world countries. A world where there is a chance for total freedom.

The world where security cameras can detect hidden explosives on people on the streets and immediately send the information to the responsible security agencies in milliseconds putting in place the process to save hundreds or thousands of people from the suicide bomber or the psychopathic shooter. Military drones and bots being sent on covert military operations, limiting the unnecessary loss of human life especially when harsh threats are to be neutralized at the expense of human collateral damage.

Scientific research could be carried out in dangerous territories using highly specialized and intelligent individuals without related human limitations. Consider having a system that could review and detect any external threats to its performance and immediately find solutions to such problems.

Space exploration would be at its peak if intelligence at the level of humans, without attendant biological restrictions, could roam freely on interplanetary bodies while being able to suitably avoid threats, and still find its way back to earth with a comprehensive and well-detailed report. The possibilities are endless. Human errors are at an all-time low, and economic productivity is at a maximum.

This future is here already. A lot of inventions long limited to the human imagination have been freed by the creative genius of futuristic thinkers and problem solvers.

But what happens when these creations are turned against us. What happens if the systems designed to protect us fail at doing that, and are instead instrumental in our destruction.

What if the road and vehicle work together in stopping a fast-moving ambulance on a quest to save several human lives, at the expense of an animal that could have been easily avoided by the experienced driver?

What happens when a short-circuited toasting machine results in a power cut that prevents the use of a nebulizer to save the life of an asthmatic child? Imagine the joys of ice cream being denied to a little child. The little things of life are limited to cold hard calculations.

Electoral systems are left to an artificial system that deals with a series of algorithms with no humanity. What if an AI determines who is best to rule us without any input from the work-weary human on the street who gets most affected on a daily basis by the decisions of the elected official? Is true democracy still in play?

What if manipulative, calculative persons run our military robots without the presence of ground humans to make decisions as to the viability of certain commands and the effects on clueless, innocent civilians?

Intelligence without humanity has been one of man’s biggest blunders. History hardly runs out of smart, creative humans. The difference between a life-saving creative genius and a mad scientist is in the minute empathetic decisions put into the processes involved.

For humans to be able to thrive and not get destroyed by the creation of Artificial Intelligence, there has to be a blend of humanity in every step of its creation. Our AIs are only as good and human involvement in their creation. Hence a healthy dose of humanity has to remain in taking the final decisions in any major intelligence process. And the technical know-how to process this humanity into the intelligence of these creations might be our only saving grace. A human must inevitably take the decisions that will save us, and AIs cannot be left completely responsible for us.