Expert Warns AI Technology Can Reshape Society at Our Disadvantage as It Can't Be 'Safely Controlled'
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is very promising but can also be a huge threat to society. An AI expert warned that AI can't be "controlled safely."
AI Can't Be Safely Controlled
Per Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy, AI control may be one of humanity's most significant issues. However, it's still not well defined, understood, or explored. For him, there was no proof that AI could be "safely controlled."
Artificial intelligence (AI) safety specialist Dr. Yampolskiy examines how AI can drastically alter society, and not always positively, in his new book "AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable."
"We are facing an almost guaranteed event with the potential to cause an existential catastrophe. No wonder many consider this to be the most important problem humanity has ever faced. The outcome could be prosperity or extinction, and the fate of the universe hangs in the balance," Yampolskiy said.
After thoroughly analyzing the scientific literature on AI, Dr. Yampolskiy claims to have found no evidence that AI can be managed appropriately. Even if there were some partial controls, they would not be sufficient.
"Why do so many researchers assume that AI control problem is solvable? To the best of our knowledge, there is no evidence for that, no proof. Before embarking on a quest to build a controlled AI, it is important to show that the problem is solvable," he explained.
"This, combined with statistics that show the development of AI superintelligence is an almost guaranteed event, show we should be supporting a significant AI safety effort."
He contends that our capacity to create intelligent software greatly exceeds our capacity to manage or validate it. Following a thorough analysis of the literature, he concludes that regardless of their advantages, brilliant systems will always carry some risk since they are impossible to regulate totally. He thinks the AI community should aim to reduce such risk as much as possible while maximizing potential gains.
AI Can Drive Human Extinction
Applications for artificial intelligence (AI) abound. Even IT specialists, nevertheless, warned that it might cause the extinction of humanity.
A global team of scientists polled 2,778 AI professionals about the future of the systems, and 25% of them said that technology would wipe out humanity. But an even more concerning prediction was made by one in ten researchers, who estimated that there is a terrifying 25% chance that AI will wipe out the human species.
The experts listed three possible explanations for why AI might take over: (1) AI being used by authoritarian rulers to manipulate their populace; (2) AI systems exacerbating economic inequality by favoring some individuals disproportionately; and (3) AI enabling threatening groups to develop potent weapons, such as genetically modified viruses.
According to Katja Grace, one of the study authors, it's an important sign that most AI researchers don't find it strongly implausible that sophisticated AI will wipe out humanity. She believes that the overall perception of a non-minuscule risk is far more informative than the precise % risk.
On the other hand, about 58% of researchers expressed greater optimism regarding AI's eventual conquest, stating that there is only a 5% possibility that it could lead to the extinction of humans.
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