Experts, Including OpenAI and Google DeepMind Heads, Warn of AI’s Potential to Cause Humanity’s Extinction
Top leaders in the field of artificial intelligence, including the heads of OpenAI and Google DeepMind, have raised concerns about the potential for AI to lead to the extinction of humanity. The Centre for AI Safety has published a statement, backed by dozens of experts, emphasizing the need to prioritize efforts in mitigating this existential risk on a global scale. The statement compares the urgency of addressing AI-related risks to other major threats such as pandemics and nuclear war.
However, there are those who argue that these fears may be exaggerated. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, and Dario Amodei from Anthropic are among the supporters of the statement, lending their weight to the ongoing discussion surrounding the risks and benefits of advanced AI technologies.
“Godfathers of AI” Support Centre for AI Safety’s Call, but Controversy Persists
Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent figure who previously warned about the risks associated with super-intelligent AI, has joined in supporting the Centre for AI Safety’s call. Yoshua Bengio, a computer science professor at the University of Montreal, has also added his signature to the cause. Dr. Hinton, Prof. Bengio, and NYU Professor Yann LeCun are often hailed as the “godfathers of AI” due to their groundbreaking contributions in the field, which collectively earned them the prestigious 2018 Turing Award for exceptional achievements in computer science.
However, Prof. LeCun, who also holds a position at Meta, has expressed skepticism regarding these doomsday predictions, taking to Twitter to state that “the most common reaction by AI researchers to these prophecies of doom is face palming.” Despite the differing opinions within the AI community, the support from these influential figures further fuels the ongoing debate surrounding the potential risks and exaggerated concerns associated with advanced AI technologies.
