Apocalypse Now? Artificial Intelligence Visionaries Worry About ‘Risk of Extinction’

Artificial intelligence leaders recently released an explosive statement about the “extinction risk” artificial intelligence poses to humanity.

A statement released by the AI ​​Security Center reads:

“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

The statement was signed by prominent AI scientists such as Jeff Hinton (ex-Googler) and Demis Hassabis, as well as prominent technology leaders such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostak, and Bill Gates.

The statement is designed to be concise. According to the AI ​​Security Center:

“AI experts, journalists, policymakers and the public are increasingly considering a wide range of significant and urgent risks from artificial intelligence. Still, it can be difficult to express concern about some of the most serious risks of advanced artificial intelligence.

The succinct statement below aims to overcome this obstacle and open up the discussion. It also aims to create common knowledge among the growing number of experts and public figures who also take seriously the most serious risks of advanced artificial intelligence.”

The announcement immediately attracted massive attention and further sparked a debate in the AI ​​community about the existential dangers of artificial intelligence.

In Episode 50 of the Marketing AI ShowI spoke with Paul Roetzer, founder and CEO of the Marketing AI Institute, to explain why this announcement is important.

Here’s what you need to know…

1. It is important to pay attention to this. “Of course, there are a lot of entrepreneurs and AI researchers who have signed on to this that I have a lot of respect for and we follow,” says Roetzer. This one is worth keeping an eye on.
2. But existential fears are still poorly defined. Unlike other examples (pandemic, nuclear war), there is still very little clarity about how AI can reach extinction-level threats. Many critics do not even believe that this is possible.
3. However, more and more industry leaders are expressing fear. “What’s most interesting to me is that a group of AI research companies and labs seem to be united in this concern,” says Roetzer. “Many of them seem willing to collaborate on solutions.”
4. Even so, this is no time to be angry. “In my opinion, there’s no need to hit the panic button,” says Roetzer. But it’s worth noting that these fears exist—and they’re expressed by very intelligent and important people in the world of artificial intelligence. “So it’s noteworthy, for better or worse, at this point.”

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