Why Experts Warn Against the Potential Existential Threat of AI
Expert figures in the development of artificial intelligence systems, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, have signed a statement warning that the technology they are building could one day pose an existential threat to humanity comparable to that of nuclear war and pandemics.
The Risks of AI
Philosophers have long debated the idea that AI could become uncontrollable and either accidentally or deliberately destroy humanity. However, the startling and bewildering advances made in AI algorithms over the past six months have sparked widespread and serious concerns.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, a start-up dedicated to the development of AI with a focus on security, co-signed the statement together with many other prominent figures working on cutting-edge AI problems such as Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio. The Turing Award, a prestigious award given for contributions in the field of computer science, was awarded to the two scholars and a third for their work on deep learning, which underpins much of modern advances in AI and machine learning.
The Declaration
The Center for AI Security, a non-profit organization, released a one-sentence statement: “Mitigate AI extinction risk should be a global priority along with other societal risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” The declaration has been called a great initiative by Max Tegmark, professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of the Future Life Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on the long-term risks posed by AI.
The Risks and Alarms on AI
This moment of concern about AI is likened to the debate among scientists sparked by the creation of nuclear weapons. The current alarm tone is linked to several leaps in the performance of AI algorithms known as big language models. These models consist of a specific type of artificial neural network that is trained on huge amounts of human-written text to predict the words that should follow a given string.
These language models can generate text and answer questions with remarkable eloquence and with apparent knowledge. These models can solve complex problems that require some forms of abstraction and common sense reasoning. OpenAI’s GPT-4, the most powerful model ever created, is known for its ability to solve complex problems.
A Break in the Development Process
In March, the Tegmark Institute published a letter asking for a six-month break in developing state-of-the-art AI algorithms to assess risks. The letter was signed by hundreds of AI researchers and executives, including Elon Musk. The hope is that the statement will encourage governments and the general public to take the existential risks of AI more seriously.
Why We Need to Address the Risks of AI
Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Security, suggests that we should have conversations such as those that nuclear scientists had before the creation of the atomic bomb. This will help us to address these existential risks and ensure that the threat of AI extinction becomes more widespread. However, to address these threats, we must first understand why risk mitigation of AI extinction is necessary.
Additional Piece
Many experts argue that artificial intelligence systems today pose a threat to both businesses and society, with a growing number becoming increasingly concerned about the risk of AI. As we become more reliant on technology, we must prioritize AI safety and mitigate risks. Neglecting to address these risks can cause significant harm in the long run.
Research has shown that automation can lead to job displacement, which in turn can result in economic disruptions. This has raised a lot of concerns, with people fearing for their job security and economic stability. Jobs that traditionally require human interaction, such as receptionists, accountants, and even lawyers, are now being replaced by machines and software. But, as much as machines cannot replace human intelligence and reasoning completely, these innovations have had, and will continue to have, a profound effect on how we work.
Aside from job displacement, other risks exist with the development and utilization of AI. For instance, there is a possibility that AI systems could exceed its human-designed limitations, resulting in unintended or even disastrous consequences. The explanation is that AI operates based on pre-programmed algorithms and learns from data sets, which have the potential to be manipulated and biased, making AI systems less reliable than humans.
When AI fails or operates incorrectly, the consequences can be life-threatening. One example is the death of Elaine Herzberg, who was killed in 2018 by an autonomously driven Uber car. The incident raised significant concern about the safety of self-driving cars. Consequently, technology experts and policymakers worldwide are questioning the safety, efficacy, and ethical considerations of AI.
One proposition to mitigate these risks is to establish regulatory frameworks that safeguard against unwanted outcomes. It is necessary to reduce these negative impacts by introducing new regulations and policies to regulate AI development better. Additionally, it has been advocated that moving from predictive programming to design for ethical values is key. Many believe that to safeguard societies from the unwanted outcomes of AI technologies, it is essential to design them ethically from the outset to make AI use, development, and responsibility more transparent.
It is essential to acknowledge that the full range of potential risks in AI development remain unknown. However, measuring the risks and finding ways to minimize them can help us identify the actions we need to take to ensure AI safety. That said, it is important to note that addressing AI risks isn’t a straightforward undertaking. It requires acknowledging and respecting human rights and focusing on benefitting people, planet, and profit.
Summary
Experts warn that advancements in AI threaten to pose an existential threat to humanity, comparable to nuclear war and pandemics. Large leaps in the performance of AI algorithms known as big language models have made philosophers’ concerns about a potentially uncontrollable AI more of a reality. AI algorithms can predict text with remarkable eloquence and apparently accurate knowledge. The risk analysts argue that these systems could exceed their human-designed limitations, leading to unintended or disastrous consequences. To mitigate risks, some researchers and experts argue for introducing ethical values in design and developing regulatory frameworks. Neglecting to address these risks could lead to job displacement and economic dislocation, among other issues.
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Prominent figures in Developers of artificial intelligence systems, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, have signed a statement warning that the technology they are building could one day pose an existential threat to the world. humanity comparable to that of nuclear war and pandemics.
“Mitigate AI extinction risk should be a global priority along with other societal risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” read a one-sentence statement released today by the Center for AI Securitya non-profit organization.
Philosophers have long debated the idea that AI could become uncontrollable and, either accidentally or deliberately, destroy humanity. But in the last six months, after some startling and bewildering leaps in the performance of AI algorithms, the topic has been much more widely and seriously discussed.
In addition to Altman and Hassabis, the statement was signed by Dario Amodei, CEO of anthropic, a startup dedicated to the development of AI with a focus on security. Other signatories include Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio—Two of the three scholars who received the Turing Award for their work on deep learningthe technology that underpins modern advances in machine learning and AI, as well as dozens of entrepreneurs and researchers working on cutting-edge AI problems.
“The declaration is a great initiative,” says Max Tegmarkprofessor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of the Future Life Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on the long-term risks posed by AI. In March, the Tegmark Institute published a letter asking for a six month break in developing state-of-the-art AI algorithms to be able to assess risks. The letter was signed by hundreds of AI researchers and executives, including Elon Musk.
Tegmark says he hopes the statement will encourage governments and the general public to take the existential risks of AI more seriously. “The ideal outcome is that the threat of AI extinction becomes more widespread, allowing everyone to discuss it without fear of ridicule,” he adds.
Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Security, compared the current moment of concern about AI to the debate among scientists sparked by the creation of nuclear weapons. “We need to have the conversations that nuclear scientists had before the creation of the atomic bomb,” Hendrycks said in a quote issued along with the organization’s statement from him.
The current alarm tone is linked to several leaps in the performance of AI algorithms known as big language models. These models consist of a specific type of artificial neural network that is trained on huge amounts of human-written text to predict the words that should follow a given string. When fed enough data and additional training in the form of human feedback on good and bad answers, these language models can generate text and answer questions with remarkable eloquence and apparent knowledge, even if their answers are often riddled with errors.
These language models have proven to be increasingly coherent and capable as they are fed with more data and computing power. The most powerful model ever created, OpenAI’s GPT-4, can solve complex problems, including those that seem to require some forms of abstraction and common sense reasoning.
https://www.wired.com/story/runaway-ai-extinction-statement/
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