AI leaders warn about ‘risk of extinction’ in open letter
The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) recently issued a statement signed by prominent figures in AI warning about the potential risks posed by the technology to humanity.
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” reads the statement.
Signatories of the statement include renowned researchers and Turing Award winners like Geoffery Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, as well as executives from OpenAI and DeepMind, such as Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, and Demis Hassabis.
The CAIS letter aims to spark discussions about the various urgent risks associated with AI and has attracted both support and criticism across the wider industry. It follows another open letter signed by Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and over 1,000 other experts who called for a halt to “out-of-control” AI development.
Despite its brevity, the latest statement does not provide specific details about the definition of AI or offer concrete strategies for mitigating the risks. However, CAIS clarified in a press release that its goal is to establish safeguards and institutions to ensure that AI risks are effectively managed.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been actively engaging with global leaders and advocating for AI regulations. During a recent Senate appearance, Altman repeatedly called on lawmakers to heavily regulate the industry. The CAIS statement aligns with his efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of AI.
While the open letter has garnered attention, some experts in AI ethics have criticised the trend of issuing such statements.
Dr Sasha Luccioni, a machine-learning research scientist, suggests that mentioning hypothetical risks of AI alongside tangible risks like pandemics and climate change enhances its credibility while diverting attention from immediate issues like bias, legal challenges, and consent.
Daniel Jeffries, a writer and futurist, argues that discussing AI risks has become a status game in which individuals jump on the bandwagon without incurring any real costs.
Critics believe that signing open letters about future threats allows those responsible for current AI harms to alleviate their guilt while neglecting the ethical problems associated with AI technologies already in use.
However, CAIS – a San Francisco-based nonprofit – remains focused on reducing societal-scale risks from AI through technical research and advocacy. The organisation was co-founded by experts with backgrounds in computer science and a keen interest in AI safety.
While some researchers fear the emergence of a superintelligent AI that could surpass human capabilities and pose an existential threat, others argue that signing open letters about hypothetical doomsday scenarios distracts from the existing ethical dilemmas surrounding AI. They emphasise the need to address the real problems AI poses today, such as surveillance, biased algorithms, and the infringement of human rights.
Balancing the advancement of AI with responsible implementation and regulation remains a crucial task for researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders alike.
(Photo by Apolo Photographer on Unsplash)
Related: OpenAI CEO: AI regulation ‘is essential’
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