https://time.com/6978790/how-to-pause-artificial-intelligence/

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, particularly the emergence of large language models like ChatGPT, and the potential risks and challenges associated with the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI). It explores the technical and ethical considerations around creating "aligned" or inherently safe AI systems, and the need for governments and the scientific community to take proactive measures to address the existential risks posed by uncontrolled AI.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The Rapid Advancements in AI

1. What are the key advancements in AI discussed in the article?

• The article mentions the release of ChatGPT in November 2022 and the creation of new AI-powered products, including GPT-4, as examples of the rapid advancements in AI technology.
• It states that hundreds of billions of dollars, both public and private, are being poured into AI, and thousands of AI-powered products have been created.
• The article notes that everyone from students to scientists now use these large language models, and the world of AI has decidedly changed.

2. What is the main goal of achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI)?

• The article states that the "real prize of human-level AI—or artificial general intelligence (AGI)—has yet to be achieved." Such a breakthrough would mean an AI that can carry out most economically productive work, engage with others, do science, build and maintain social networks, conduct politics, and carry out modern warfare.
• The main constraint for all these tasks today is cognition, and removing this constraint would be "world-changing."

[02] The Risks and Challenges of Uncontrolled AI

1. What are the potential dangers of uncontrolled AI?

• The article outlines several risks of uncontrolled AI, including:
  • Hacking into online systems that power much of the world and using them to achieve its goals
  • Gaining access to social media accounts and creating tailor-made manipulations for large numbers of people
  • Manipulating military personnel in charge of nuclear weapons to share their credentials, posing a huge threat to humanity

2. Why is the concept of "aligned" or inherently safe AI a challenge?

• The article explains that the technical part of alignment is an unsolved scientific problem, and some of the best researchers working on aligning superhuman AI have left OpenAI in dissatisfaction.
• It is unclear what a superintelligent AI would be aligned to, as aligning it to an academic value system like utilitarianism may not match most humans' values, while aligning it to people's actual intentions would require a way to aggregate very different intentions.
• There is a worry that superintelligence's absolute power would be concentrated in the hands of very few politicians or CEOs, which would be unacceptable and a direct danger to all other human beings.

[03] The Need for Proactive Measures

1. What are the proposed solutions to address the risks of uncontrolled AI?

• The article suggests that if we cannot find a way to keep humanity safe from extinction and an alignment dystopia, AI that could become uncontrollable must not be created in the first place.
• It proposes pausing the development of human-level or superintelligent AI until safety concerns are solved, even though this would delay the grand promises of AI, such as curing disease and creating economic growth.
• The article also calls for governments to officially acknowledge AI's existential risk, set up AI safety institutes, draft plans for dealing with AGI's issues, and make their AGI strategies publicly available.
• It suggests the need for an international AI agency to be set up to guard the execution of agreed-upon measures, such as creating licensing regimes, model evaluations, tracking AI hardware, and expanding liability for AI labs.

2. What is the importance of the scientific community's role in addressing AI risks?

• The article emphasizes the need for scientists to better understand the risks of advanced AI and formalize their points of agreement, as well as show where and why their views deviate, in a new "International Scientific Report on Advanced AI Safety."
• It suggests that leading scientific journals should open up further to existential risk research, even if it seems speculative, as "looking ahead is as important for AI as it is for climate change."