The artificial superintelligence controversy
Although artificial superintelligence is for now a theoretical concept, more typical of science fiction, various technology companies, researchers and experts have already warned about its future potential. The answer oscillates between fascination with advances and fear that algorithms could pose some danger to human beings.
Shortly after the release of ChatGPT, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) and Jaan Tallinn (co-founder of Skype), published an open letter together with more than 1,000 researchers in which they asked to pause research into advanced AI because it is “a profound risk for humanity.” Along the same lines is Eliezer Yudkowskyhead of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and considered one of the greatest experts in AI, who in March 2023 published an article in ‘Time’ magazine in which he called completely stop the development of these advances: “We cannot calculate in advance what will happen and when, and it currently seems possible to imagine that a research laboratory could cross critical lines without knowing.”
On the other hand, other experts such as the investor Marc Andreessenco-founder of web browsers such as Mosaic and Netscape, They do not consider that AI poses a danger to humanity. “AI doesn’t want anything, it doesn’t have goals, it doesn’t want to kill you, because it’s not alive. And AI is a machine: it has no more chance of coming to life than your toaster has,” he wrote on his personal blog. of the. Andrew Ngprecursor of Google Brain and director of the Stanford AI Lab (SAIL), also does not consider that AI will pose a danger: “I think the impact of AI is contributing enormously to society, and I don’t see how it can lead to extinction Since I work in AI, I feel a great ethical responsibility and keep an open mind to understand its risks.
Another great reference in predicting the future of AI is Illya Sutskever, co-founder of OpenAI and former scientific director, who has left the company to focus on a personal project. “At some point, we will have real artificial general intelligence (AGI). Maybe OpenAI will build it. Maybe some other company will do it,” Sutskever said in an interview published in ‘MIT Technology Review’.
In fact, OpenAI has established a Safety and Security Committee in charge of overseeing and making recommendations on the company’s most important decisions. Although OpenAI currently occupies a prominent place in the AI landscape, the potential development of more advanced artificial intelligence is not only relevant to this company. Other tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft They also have research departments dedicated to exploring the possibility of creating AGI-type AI, that is, artificial general intelligence.
While artificial general intelligence is developing, other experts are already thinking about what will happen when the artificial superintelligence milestone is reached. But when will it arrive? There is still no clear date. OpenAI notes that it could arrive “this decade.” While, Bill Gates He is less optimistic and on his blog he points out that this achievement “could be a decade or a century away.” However, the founder of Microsoft highlights three questions that, according to him, will become more urgent over time: “What will be the objectives of these AIs? What will happen if their interests collide with those of humanity? Should we prevent the development of strong AI?”
Meanwhile, other experts, such as Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta, believe that there are still many steps to take before talking about machines with the capacity to surpass humans. “The emergence of superintelligence will not be an event. Today we do not have anything resembling a model for superintelligent systems. At some point, we will develop an architecture that can take us there […] “We will design it in such a way that its sole purpose is to meet human-specified goals (I call this goal-driven AI).” https://twitter.com/ylecun/status/1796543960296440162where he denied that a superpowerful system typical of science fiction could ever be developed.
Only time will tell which expert was more correct in their forecast.
