April 5, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

AI in the Year 2020… Almost

By Nektar Baziotis


In 1966 Gene Rodenberry’s “Star Trek” made its television debut on NBC. Audiences young and old were captivated by the show, particularly by its imagination of the space, the future, and the incredible technology humanity could possible yield in it. “Star Trek” would go on to inspire a generation of people determined to create the gadgets of the future. Just three years after the premiere of Star Trek”, humanity would launch Apollo 11, the spaceship that would carry Neil Armstrong to the lunar surface, making him the first person ever to walk on the moon. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and other children of the space age would go on to become titans of the modern technological era, successfully developing the same kinds of devices used in the iconic television show.

63 years later it appears that humanity is inching closer to that future that was but science fiction generations prior. In particular, technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming more integrated into our everyday lives. AI powered virtual helpers that exist in our smart devices have learned to understand our behavior so as to predict what we need from them. For example, Alexa, a digital assistant developed by Amazon is trained to recognize voices, commands, and even recognize when different people are talking to it. Through machine learning Alexa learns your patterns, allowing it to predict when you need to order groceries, set an alarm to wake up, even remind you to take your medication. And as soon as 2025, developers intend to make Alexa smart enough to predict when your relationships with your intimate partners are about to end.

AI analysts, researches and developers are visioning to integrate AI into E-Learning technology. AI powered E-Learning, can learn to apply logic to tasks through the data they collect from users can help developers to create software that make learning in the classroom at a job easier and more streamlined. Training sessions for new skills that would previously take months to learn in a classroom can now be taught on a computer, tablet, or other smart device powered by technology designed to enrich the learning experience.

Of course, with any advance in technology there exists a draw back. Many researchers who study AI have warned of the dangers that super-intelligent technology can pose to humanity. Elon Musk claims that “AΙ is far more dangerous than nukes”. AI is trained to accomplish its tasks as logically as possible, it is neither benevolent nor malicious. However, if the AI’s goals do not align with humanity’s goals, it could pose a considerable threat to our safety. Smart cars that are programed to optimize your travel from point A to point B may end up leaving havoc in their wake as they bulldoze through buildings and people to get you there the fastest way possible. Data centers storing huge amounts of personal information about us, from our patterns and behavior on the internet to digital images of our faces, also raise huge ethical concerns about privacy. In more recent years researchers have warned about AI, particularly the algorithms used on social media sites, being used to manipulate public perception by flooding people’s pages with false news articles. AI researchers and technological ethicists have urged that as our technology becomes smarter it is important that we prioritize humanity’s safety from the dangers it may eventually possess.

The future of technology is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Every day technology is being developed to make our lives easier than ever imagined. What risks that might entail remain to be seen. But humanity will always prevailand will charge forward on our technological quest and continue “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Nektar Baziotis is an entrepreneur and IT project manager based in Santa Monica. He has managed and successfully delivered to various institutes and organizations, including the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and public and private sector partners and clients in the United States. He is currently President of ENKI Technologies, located at 100 Wilshire, Suite 700, in Santa Monica. For more information, visit  https://enki.tech/ or call (213) 814-2332 or follow on social media at twitter.com/enkitechi/ and linkedin.com/in/nektariosbaziotis.

<>Related Posts

Opinion: Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath Community Column Regarding a More Accountable Homeless Services System

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

By Lindsay Horvath, Los Angeles Board of Supervisors This week marks a significant milestone in our fight to end homelessness...

SM.a.r.t Column: Bring Back The Music 2.0

March 23, 2025

March 23, 2025

This is an update of the article appearing in the SM Mirror on Feb 1, 2025 On January 28th, 2025,...

Letter to the Editor: Close the Fairview Library??

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

By the Santa Monica Public Library Board, Judith Meister, Chair, Dana Newman, Vice Chair Antonio Spears, Boardmember Daniel Cody, Board Member...

SM.a.r.t Column: Fire Safety in Los Angeles: Reimagining an Age of Megafires

March 16, 2025

March 16, 2025

Los Angeles stands at a critical juncture in its relationship with fire. It is true that climate change intensified vegetations...

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium: The Cultural Icon Santa Monica Needs

March 9, 2025

March 9, 2025

Santa Monica is a city of innovation, creativity, and world-class attractions, yet it lacks a central cultural destination that reflects...

SM.a.r.t Column: The Perils of Passing the Buck: How Self-Certification Threatens Public Safety in Building Design and Construction

March 2, 2025

March 2, 2025

In the bustling city of Santa Monica, California, a quiet revolution is underway in the world of building design and...

SM.a.r.t Column: Bring Back The Music

February 16, 2025

February 16, 2025

On January 28th, 2025, the City Council did a wise thing and agreed to continue the process, for 30 days,...

SM.a.r.t Column: The Water Crisis Behind LA’s Fire Disaster: A Legacy of Outdated Infrastructure

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

A firefighter filling a trash can with pool water during the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires tells a story more...

SM.a.r.t Column: California’s Fire Safety Evolution: Meeting Modern Wildfire Challenges

February 2, 2025

February 2, 2025

The devastating fires that struck Los Angeles in January 2025 echo a pattern of increasingly destructive wildfires reshaping California’s approach...

SM.a.r.t Column: Peril, Prevention, and the Path Forward

January 26, 2025

January 26, 2025

The recent Palisades and Altadena fires brought Los Angeles’ inherent contradictions into sharp focus as residents fled their homes in...

SM.a.r.t Column: A New Path Ahead

January 19, 2025

January 19, 2025

The recent Palisades Fire is profoundly impacting the people of Los Angeles, displacing families, destroying property, and creating an enduring...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Adaptive Liveability

January 2, 2025

January 2, 2025

You know, sometimes you walk by a building and think, that place has some stories to tell. What if those...

SM.a.r.t Column: Happy Holidays

December 22, 2024

December 22, 2024

S.M.a.r.t. (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) is wishing you a wonderful holiday season. We hope you are surrounded...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Preserving Santa Monica

December 15, 2024

December 15, 2024

Since Giving Tuesday I’m sure you have been bombarded with appeals from countless organizations, local, national, or even international that...

SM.a.r.t Column: Climbing The Vertical Learning Curve

December 8, 2024

December 8, 2024

The city is facing a financial crisis, the roots of which stretch back decades but have been made worse by...