“If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong”
"AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research[1] and acknowledged by top AI labs. As stated in the widely-endorsed Asilomar AI Principles, Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources. Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict, or reliably control."
Notable tech figures like Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, Laurence Tribe, a Harvard legal scholar, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI co-founder and current chief scientist, and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI have signed a letter from The Center for AI Safety. While this letter is important, it ironically highlights the juxtaposition between the expert’s concerns and their active participation in pushing the boundaries of AI technology.
Despite the irony, it is encouraging to see experts acknowledging and addressing AI risks even if they get labelled as doomers.
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
Since the groundbreaking introduction of ChatGPT towards the end of 2022, Altman has expressed repeated uneasiness about the future of AI, even as he boasts about its potential to enhance the world. The dissonance between these statements can be perplexing.
While these contrasting remarks may create confusion regarding Altman’s character and his technological creations, it is important to recognise that Altman ultimately prioritises his bottom line. If highlighting the risks associated with AI enhances his and OpenAI’s reputation, he is willing to do so.
It’s interesting because Altman is a big part of improving AI but also worries about the problems it could cause. As are many of the other signees of the letter.
Yet, it is these experts who want everyone to pay attention to the risks of their creations, just like we pay attention to diseases, possible pandemics, the economy and wars.
They fear this kind of AI could break free from our control and either take over the world or even wipe out humanity entirely. Yet carry on creating and improving on the technology they are scared of.
While some people are truly terrified of this potential danger. An open letter may be a way for those responsible for other AI problems to feel better about themselves. They think that by signing the letter, they can make themselves look like heroes even though they are creating the technology in the first place.
Humanity can enjoy a flourishing future with AI. Having succeeded in creating powerful AI systems, we can now enjoy an “AI summer” in which we reap the rewards, engineer these systems for the clear benefit of all, and give society a chance to adapt. Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society. We can do so here. Let’s enjoy a long AI summer, not rush unprepared into a fall.
What are your views on the evolution of AI?
