AI poses ‘risk of extinction’, tech CEOs warn
Warning follows open letter earlier this year calling for a six-month pause in AI development.
Taipei, Taiwan – Artificial intelligence poses a “risk of extinction” that calls for global action, leading computer scientists and technologists warn.
“Reducing the risk of AI extinction should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” a group of AI experts and other high-profile figures said in a short statement from the Center for AI. Safety. a San Francisco-based research and advocacy group, on Tuesday.
Signatories include technology experts such as Sam Altman, general manager of OpenAI, Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI”, and Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital minister, as well as other notable figures including the neuroscientist Sam Harris and the musician Grimes .
The warning follows an open letter signed by Elon Musk and other high-profile figures in March calling for a six-month pause in the development of AI more advanced than OpenAI’s GPT-4.
“Powerful AI systems should not be developed until we are confident that their effects will be positive and that their risks will be manageable,” the letter said.
The rapid advancement of AI has raised concerns about potential negative impacts on society, ranging from massive job losses and copyright infringement to the spread of misinformation and political instability. Some experts have expressed fears that humanity could one day lose control of the technology.
While current AI has yet to reach artificial general intelligence (AGI), which may allow it to make independent decisions, researchers at Microsoft said in March that GPT-4 showed “sparks of AGI” and was able to “take on new and difficult tasks.” stretching across math, coding, vision, medicine, law, psychology and more, without special prompting.”
Since then, warnings about the potential dangers of AI have increased.
Last month, Hinton, a renowned computer scientist, resigned from Google so he could spend more time advocating the risks of AI.
In an appearance before the US Congress earlier this month, Altman called on lawmakers to quickly develop regulations for AI technology and recommended a licensing-based approach.
The US and other countries are struggling to come up with legislation that balances the need for surveillance with promising technology.
The European Union has said it hopes to pass legislation by the end of the year that would classify AI into four risk-based categories.
China has also taken steps to regulate AI, passing legislation regarding deep fakes and requiring companies to register their algorithms with regulators.
Beijing has also proposed strict rules to restrict politically sensitive content and require developers to get approval before releasing generative AI-based technology.