Would you terminate your employees if they started keeping secrets from you? Basically, Facebook did just that when two of its experimental AI bots started to converse in a language totally alien and undecipherable to researchers.

In an effort to distinguish themselves from their rivals, Artificial Intelligence has been at the forefront of research efforts of tech companies. Facebook, for instance, is working on AI bots that have the capacity to negotiate.

Interesting: researchers realise AI agents have invented new language to communicate with each other, shut them down https://t.co/7H9dStS70B

— Ross Dawson (@rossdawson) July 30, 2017

Negotiation involves complex skills like communication and reasoning, abilities that are “not inherently found in computers.” Thus, Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) embarked on a project that utilized reinforcement learning so that AI bots learn how to negotiate better from past experience.

The experiment was split in two. One group of AIs was restricted to use only the English language in their dealings while the other group had no such restriction. It was the second group that churned out a very interesting result, a seemingly nonsensical dialogue between two AI bots seen below as provided by Techly:

Alice: balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to

Bob: you i everything else

Alice: balls have a ball to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me

Bob: i . . . . . .. . . . . .

Generally, people are both amazed and worried about the latest developments in AI, where scientist keep churning out robots that are approaching human-like intelligence. One can partly blame it on movies like Terminator and The Matrix with plots showing robots taking over the world and annihilating their former masters.

It might not be as terrifying at #Terminator, but a Facebook AI just got shut down after creating its own language. pic.twitter.com/YtiS0EFLEP

— IGN (@IGN) July 29, 2017

Apparently, it is a cause of concern not only for ordinary folks but even some distinguished personalities in the business and scientific communities as well. For instance, renowned physicist Stephen Hawkings, as well as the inventor, business magnate, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have publicly warned of its potential dangers.

It has been shown that letting AIs make their own language could ultimately mean more efficient communication between bots according to FastCoDesign. But Facebook is not taking any chances and has shut down the non-English-speaking AIs for now.

[Featured Image by Pixabay]