Fears and warnings swirl, but how dangerous is AI technology?
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is disrupting and revolutionising almost every industry but experts are sharing their fears over the dangers of AI
- Elon Musk is one of many who are calling for a six-month timeout in the training of new AI systems
- The major fears are: It is programmed to do something malicious, and the AI is programmed to be beneficial but does something destructive while achieving its goal
- Job losses, security and privacy fears and more
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is not a new concept, it’s been around since the mid-20th century and can be traced back even further to early Greek myths and the development of mechanical devices designed to automate tasks in the industrial revolution.
But fears over AI have once again amplified in recent months, following the launch of ChatGPT (and others like it) – an AI language model that many say threatens white-collar jobs, and some predict it could, if not truly understood, end the human race.
Elon Musk, a man you wouldn’t expect to have concerns over the potential dangers of technological advances, has joined a group of experts calling for a six-month timeout in the training of new AI systems. If Musk is worried, we should be too.
The fears are that this new wave of ever-smarter technology is going to threaten life on Earth as we know it. These tech developments have not been regulated and there is no knowing what type of catastrophe it could cause.
Dawning of new tech era
ChatGPT is just one of the newest developments that symbolise a dawning of a new era. There is no doubt it will be a game changer, it could bring an end to the period of weak productivity and low growth that has been plaguing Western economies since the global financial crisis. But there are major doubts over who it is that will actually benefit from this boost in productivity. Will the gains be seized by a handful of already powerful tech giants?
One of the major concerns that have come to the forefront of public discussion over AI is the impact it will have on jobs. While previous tech advances have led to higher levels of employment, there are fears tech such as ChatGPT will destroy more jobs than it creates.
There is also the issue of global regulation, retraining and redistribution. Global regulation is vital to set common standards for the use and development of AI. Then there’s the case of retraining, which will be required to prepare the workforce for the inevitable change and redistribution is necessary to ensure that the economic benefits are spread around.
The clock is ticking and lawmakers need to act fast. AI has the potential to bring great benefits but it also has risks that go beyond economics and into the realms of privacy and ethics. We must address the challenges that AI presents to truly enjoy it to its fullest.