Why Tech Leaders are Calling for a Pause on AI Development
By Movieguide® Contributor
A group of over 1,000 tech experts published an open letter and petition last week, calling for a 6-month pause on AI development to ensure proper ethics and management.
The open letter was signed by tech leaders from around the world, including SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk, Apple Co-Founder Steve Wosniak, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, Executive Director of the Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris and the founder of the AI research institute Mila, Yoshua Benigo.
“Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources,” the letter opens.
“Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control,” it continues.
The letter proposes that all AI labs immediately pause the training of any AI program more powerful than GPT-4, the current leader in the AI space, to allow ethics and regulatory boards to catch up with the rapidly evolving technology. The letter estimates this would require a time of at least 6 months.
As AI nears the capability of matching or exceeding human abilities in many areas technology has never encroached on before, the letter asks, “should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk the loss of control of our civilization?”
“Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders,” the letter asserts. “Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.”
Currently, the race for more powerful AI is fueled by a desire for profits. It is unlikely any major competitor in this space will adhere to this pause for fear that their competitors will continue to develop their software and gain an edge over them. In reality, a pause is only possible if a worldwide regulatory board was created and they put a pause on all AI development—something the letter suggests with a compulsory government moratorium.
Rather than continue in an all-out arms race, the letter proposes that “AI research and development should be refocused on making today’s powerful, state-of-the-art systems more accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal.”
The letter is not calling for a full stop on AI development but rather asks developers to consider the profound cost of what they are creating and to refocus the technology on unequivocal good rather than innovating for the sake of innovating.
It concludes by noting that “society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society” and asks AI development to allow regulations to catch up before it is too late.
Movieguide® has previously reported on AI technology and the way it is impacting the classroom:
As AI program ChatGPT becomes more mainstream and powerful, teachers consider this technology’s place in the classroom.
The release of this revolutionary technology at the end of last year gave students access to some of the most powerful cheating technology ever created and caused problems for teachers across all levels of education.
It wasn’t long before students were caught trying to pass off ChatGPT’s work as their own, and syllabuses and policies needed to be updated to outline the consequences of using said technology.
“We need to say, full stop, that any attempt to pass off work of someone or something else’s as your own is deceptive,” Jason Thacker, professor of philosophy and ethics at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky, said.
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