AI Now - Doomsday Later?
Geoffrey Hinton, the "Godfather of Artificial Intelligence," who won the computer science equivalent of the Nobel Prize just quit Google. Why should we care? Until recently, any naysayers speaking out against artificial intelligence have been lumped together with the doomsday people. You know the ones: crazy hair, standing on a street corner in NYC, yelling about the end of the world.
Well Dr. Hinton is joining them. He claims to have quit Google to be able to speak out against the dangers of AI, though his former students and colleagues all disagree with him. He has joined the likes of Alfred Nobel who created the Nobel Prize to try to make up for his creation of TNT, reportedly "a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before."
When urging caution, restraint, and oversight of artificial intelligence, Dr. Hinton suggests that AI may actually be more dangerous than the nuclear bomb. This all sounds a bit much, doesn't it? Well Dr. Hinton used to partially quote J. Robert Oppenheimer (Father of the Atomic Bomb). Here is the quote in it's entirety:
"When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb."
We might add "and that's the way it was with AI." AI is here. It's here to stay - for better or for worse. So what are we going to do about it? Can we catch up to it before it's too late? Before we make Dr. Hinton use another of Oppenheimer's quotes. "I am become death. The destroyer of worlds."
Excuse me, I need to go buy a plane ticket to New York. There has to be at least one street corner still empty.
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True, like the people who are programming AI. Even President Biden said that the goal is for AI to be DEI and ESG friendly. AI is just a tool, one more tool to modify thinking.
I agree that is exactly the problem, Andy. I actually had a chat with GPT about the dangers of AI. Well I had two chats and the first one mysteriously disappeared but I digress. ChatGPT advised the dangers of AI included: Bias in programming, unintended consequences, misuse, job displacement, lack of human oversight. I find it interesting that the only one humans admit to is the one that mostly absolves us of responsibilty.
Compelling post, my friend! I am not all-in on AI either! But I continue to read and watch it! We all wil have to wait and see if the Negatives of it outweigh the positives, or vice-versa!
Jeff
I climbed up on the fence after being on the "anti" side. I can see some grass on the other side, but it does not look much greener. I think we could see some incredible leaps forward in technology. I also see some dark clouds on the horizon.
Yes but I chose to focus on the positives in Life! Just like my Father taught me when he worked with Enrico Fermi on the atomic bomb. There’s power for good all around us.. It’s up to us to see it and harness it and make it a much more effective energy source for our world!
That's a perfect example, Holly. Fermi went on to create the first nuclear reactor. Groundbreaking discoveries can have both terrible consequences and extraordinary rewards. We need to come together to restrict the one and expand the latter.
Hi, Nathanael
I believe that AI will ultimately have the potential to be as dangerous as a nuclear bomb, but in a different way.
One could argue that atomic fission is simply another “technology,” but that does not diminish its power.
As AI continues to evolve, it will be our responsibility to harness its power properly. 😎
Frank 🎸
Good point, Frank. It is a great power which reminds me of a quote by British historian Lord Acton, "All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It is definitely our responsibility.
Haha,
My dad used to say, "With great power comes great responsibility," which was a variation of a quote from British member of Parliament William Lamb. 😎
Frank 🎸
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AI seems sweet now, but we are now the frogs placed into cold water above a low flame. Gradually that flame will be turned up until the water is boiling and leads to our death, and we didn't realize it until it was too late.
The frog in the pot! Great analogy. It seems to me not only did we not realize the heat had been turned on, many don't realize how we are little more than frogs. :-)