Musk, Experts Urge AI Pause, Citing 'Risks to Society'
2023-03-31
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1Hundreds of artificial intelligence experts and industry leaders are urging for a suspension in development of some AI technology.
2They say that the most powerful AI technology could present extreme risks to humanity and social order.
3The group released an open letter about the issue this/last week.
4It referenced the recent release of a fourth version of the popular AI program ChatGPT.
5"We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than" ChatGPT-4," the letter says.
6The product comes from Microsoft-backed developer OpenAI.
7It performs human-like discussions and creative abilities.
8"Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter continues.
9The non-profit group Future of Life Institute released the letter signed by about a thousand AI scientists, experts and industry members, including Elon Musk.
10The Musk Foundation is the main financial backer of Future of Life.
11It also receives money from the London-based group Founders Pledge, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
12Elon Musk is one of the co-founders of OpenAI.
13His electric car company, Tesla, uses AI in models with self-driving systems.
14Musk has been critical about efforts to regulate the self-driving system.
15But, now, he is hoping an agency is created to make sure the development of AI serves the public.
16"It is ... deeply hypocritical for Elon Musk to sign on given how hard Tesla has fought against" AI regulation in his self-driving cars, said James Grimmelmann.
17He is a professor of digital and information law at Cornell University.
18Last month, Tesla had to recall from owners more than 362,000 of its U.S. vehicles.
19The company had to update software after U.S. regulators said the driver assistance system could cause crashes.
20At the time, Musk tweeted that the word "recall" for a software update is "just flat wrong!"
21However, Grimmelmann did not disagree with the idea of a temporary break.
22"A pause is a good idea," he said, "but the letter is vague and doesn't take the regulatory problems seriously."
23The letter suggests shared safety measures could be developed during the proposed suspension.
24It also calls on developers to work with policymakers on governance.
25The letter noted danger linked especially to "human-competitive intelligence."
26The writers ask, "Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart...and replace us?" They also say that such decisions should not be made by "unelected tech leaders."
27Yoshua Bengio, often described as one of the "godfathers of AI," was also a signer.
28Stuart Russell, a lead researcher in the field, put his name on the letter as well.
29Business leaders who signed include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque.
30The concerns come as U.S. lawmakers begin to question ChatGPT's effect on national security and education.
31The European Union police force warned recently about the possible misuse of the system in phishing attempts, disinformation and crime.
32Gary Marcus is a professor at New York University who signed the letter.
33He said development should slow until more is learned.
34"The letter isn't perfect, but the spirit is right: we need to slow down until we better understand" the technology, he said.
35Since its release last year, ChatGPT has led other companies like Google to create similar AI systems.
36Suresh Venkatasubramanian is a professor at Brown University and former assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
37He said that a lot of the power to create these systems is usually in the hands of a few large companies.
38"That's how these models are, they're hard to build and they're hard to democratize."
1Hundreds of artificial intelligence experts and industry leaders are urging for a suspension in development of some AI technology. They say that the most powerful AI technology could present extreme risks to humanity and social order. 2The group released an open letter about the issue this/last week. It referenced the recent release of a fourth version of the popular AI program ChatGPT. 3"We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than" ChatGPT-4," the letter says. 4The product comes from Microsoft-backed developer OpenAI. It performs human-like discussions and creative abilities. 5"Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter continues. 6The non-profit group Future of Life Institute released the letter signed by about a thousand AI scientists, experts and industry members, including Elon Musk. 7The Musk Foundation is the main financial backer of Future of Life. It also receives money from the London-based group Founders Pledge, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation. 8Elon Musk is one of the co-founders of OpenAI. His electric car company, Tesla, uses AI in models with self-driving systems. 9Musk has been critical about efforts to regulate the self-driving system. But, now, he is hoping an agency is created to make sure the development of AI serves the public. 10"It is ... deeply hypocritical for Elon Musk to sign on given how hard Tesla has fought against" AI regulation in his self-driving cars, said James Grimmelmann. He is a professor of digital and information law at Cornell University. 11Last month, Tesla had to recall from owners more than 362,000 of its U.S. vehicles. The company had to update software after U.S. regulators said the driver assistance system could cause crashes. At the time, Musk tweeted that the word "recall" for a software update is "just flat wrong!" 12However, Grimmelmann did not disagree with the idea of a temporary break. "A pause is a good idea," he said, "but the letter is vague and doesn't take the regulatory problems seriously." 13The letter suggests shared safety measures could be developed during the proposed suspension. It also calls on developers to work with policymakers on governance. 14The letter noted danger linked especially to "human-competitive intelligence." 15The writers ask, "Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart...and replace us?" They also say that such decisions should not be made by "unelected tech leaders." 16Yoshua Bengio, often described as one of the "godfathers of AI," was also a signer. Stuart Russell, a lead researcher in the field, put his name on the letter as well. Business leaders who signed include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque. 17The concerns come as U.S. lawmakers begin to question ChatGPT's effect on national security and education. The European Union police force warned recently about the possible misuse of the system in phishing attempts, disinformation and crime. 18Gary Marcus is a professor at New York University who signed the letter. He said development should slow until more is learned. "The letter isn't perfect, but the spirit is right: we need to slow down until we better understand" the technology, he said. 19Since its release last year, ChatGPT has led other companies like Google to create similar AI systems. 20Suresh Venkatasubramanian is a professor at Brown University and former assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 21He said that a lot of the power to create these systems is usually in the hands of a few large companies. 22"That's how these models are, they're hard to build and they're hard to democratize." 23Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. 24________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something 27positive - adj. good or useful 28regulate - v. to make rules or laws that control 29hypocritical - adj. a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs 30vague - adj. not clear in meaning 31recall - v. to remember from the past 32phishing - n. the practice of sending emails pretending to be from real companies in order to get individuals to reveal personal information