Online petitions initiated by the Future of Life Institute are receiving support from some influential people.
Fears Rising
As per the petition:
According to comprehensive research and the top AI labs, AI technologies with human-competitive intelligence can create significant hazards to humanity, as well as society.
Since modern AI systems have begun to become human-competitive at overall tasks, humans must ask the question of whether we should allow bots to inundate our communication channels with misinformation.
Should all professions, even those which are satisfying, be given to AI? Should we form AI brains that may soon outnumber, outwit, supplant, and supersede us? Should we run the danger of losing civilizational authority?
Such choices shouldn’t be left up to unelected technocrats. Only after we are certain that their impacts will be favorable and their hazards will be tolerable should we construct powerful AI systems.
The petition also demands that all AI systems with more power than the ChatGPT-4 be put on “transparent and observable” hold for at least six months.
Additionally, it demands strict audits and public oversight to guarantee they are secure beyond possible suspicion.
BREAKING: A petition is circulating to PAUSE all major AI developments.
e.g. No more ChatGPT upgrades & many others.
Signed by Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Stability AI CEO & 1000s of other tech leaders.
Here's the breakdown: 👇 pic.twitter.com/jR4Z3sNdDw
— Lorenzo Green 〰️ (@mrgreen) March 29, 2023
Many big names in various tech industries and a number of other prominent names from MIT and Harvard all signed the petition. It shows this is something that many influential people have concerns about.
Is AI a Threat to Humanity?
The late physicist Stephen Hawking is well known for his criticism of AI. Hawking was quoted by The Independent in 2017 as speaking against them.
Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, among others, signed a petition to pause all AI development for 6 months, until we figure out how we can regulate it.
Check the highlights in the first photo to see how serious things are at the moment. pic.twitter.com/IfbEyf3tW1
— Leo Alexandru (@theleoalexandru) March 29, 2023
He expressed his concern about the potential total replacement of humans by AI in an appearance with Wired that Cambridge News was able to watch.
He claimed just as individuals create computer viruses, somebody will create self-improving, self-replicating AI. They could end up being a new life form that operates better than humans currently do.
