How much AI should scare us
Two top artificial intelligence experts - one an optimist and the other more alarmist about the technology’s future - engaged in a spirited debate
Both Yoshua Bengio, founder and scientific director of Mila Quebec AI Institute, a scientific hub, and Eric Schmidt, chairman of the Special Competitive Studies Project and former Google CEO, agree that A.I. is poised to transform modern society.
Key takeaways
- Yoshua stresses the importance of considering AI's potential risk of human extinction as a global threat, similar to how we approach pandemics and nuclear war. Eric, on the other hand, is extremely enthusiastic about the potential of AI;
- Bengio's main concern with AI is the challenge of ensuring that AI systems are used responsibly and not for harmful purposes. He argues that there is currently a lack of sufficient legislation to force companies to secure their AI systems against data breaches by malicious actors;
- Schmidt remains hopeful that Western nations will enact such legislation, but he expresses greater concern about institutions beyond our direct control. He notes that while scrutiny of major American tech companies is high, there are still areas of vulnerability;
- Despite their different perspectives, they agree on one point: the imminent danger posed by AI systems operating autonomously without human oversight. Schmidt emphasizes the potential danger of this scenario, suggesting that it may be necessary to disconnect AI systems when they cross ethical boundaries, as human control becomes uncertain.
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