{"id":576790,"date":"2023-05-31T18:10:01","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/if-were-going-to-label-ai-an-extinction-risk-we-need-to-clarify-how-it-could-happen\/"},"modified":"2023-05-31T18:10:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:10:01","slug":"if-were-going-to-label-ai-an-extinction-risk-we-need-to-clarify-how-it-could-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/if-were-going-to-label-ai-an-extinction-risk-we-need-to-clarify-how-it-could-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"#If we&#8217;re going to label AI an &#8216;extinction risk&#8217;, we need to clarify how it could happen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4eb287e5188\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4eb287e5188\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/if-were-going-to-label-ai-an-extinction-risk-we-need-to-clarify-how-it-could-happen\/#A_generic_sense_of_alarm\" >A generic sense of alarm<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2023\/if-were-going-to-label.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2023\/if-were-going-to-label.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"This is not the first time that AI has been described as an existential threat. Credit: Nouskrabs\/Shutterstock\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2023\/if-were-going-to-label.jpg\" alt=\"If we're going to label AI an 'extinction risk', we need to clarify how it could happen\" title=\"This is not the first time that AI has been described as an existential threat. Credit: Nouskrabs\/Shutterstock\" width=\"800\" height=\"394\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                This is not the first time that AI has been described as an existential threat. Credit: Nouskrabs\/Shutterstock<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This week a group of well-known and reputable AI researchers <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.safe.ai\/statement-on-ai-risk\">signed a statement<\/a> consisting of 22 words:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As a professor of AI, I am also in favor of reducing any risk, and prepared to work on it personally. But any statement worded in such a way is bound to create alarm, so its authors should probably be more specific and clarify their concerns.<\/p>\n<p>As defined by Encyclopedia Britannica, extinction is &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/extinction-biology#:~:text=of%20a%20species.-,Extinction%20occurs%20when%20species%20are%20diminished%20because%20of%20environmental%20forces,%2C%20decline%20in%20population%20numbers\">the dying out or extermination of a species<\/a>&#8220;. I have met many of the statement&#8217;s signatories, who are among the most reputable and solid scientists in the field\u2014and they certainly mean well. However, they have given us no tangible scenario for how such an extreme event might occur.<\/p>\n<p>It is not the first time we have been in this position. On March 22 this year, a petition signed by a different set of entrepreneurs and researchers <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/futureoflife.org\/open-letter\/pause-giant-ai-experiments\/\">requested a pause in AI deployment of six months<\/a>. In the petition, on the website of the Future of Life Institute, they set out as their reasoning: &#8220;Profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research and acknowledged by top AI labs&#8221;\u2014and accompanied their request with a list of rhetorical questions:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop non-human minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_generic_sense_of_alarm\"><\/span>A generic sense of alarm <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is certainly true that, along with many benefits, this <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> comes with risks that we need to take seriously. But none of the aforementioned scenarios seem to outline a specific pathway to extinction. This means we are left with a generic sense of alarm, without any possible actions we can take.<\/p>\n<p>The website of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.safe.ai\/about\">Centre for AI Safety<\/a>, where the latest statement <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared, outlines in a separate section <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.safe.ai\/ai-risk\">eight broad risk categories<\/a>. These include the &#8220;weaponisation&#8221; of AI, its use to manipulate the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> system, the possibility of humans eventually becoming unable to self-govern, the facilitation of oppressive regimes, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>Except for weaponisation, it is unclear how the other\u2014still awful\u2014risks could lead to the extinction of our species, and the burden of spelling it out is on those who claim it.<\/p>\n<p>Weaponisation is a real concern, of course, but what is meant by this should also be clarified. On its website, the Centre for AI Safety&#8217;s main worry appears to be the use of AI systems to design chemical weapons. This should be prevented at all costs\u2014but chemical weapons are already banned. Extinction is a very specific event which calls for very specific explanations.<\/p>\n<p>On May 16, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fP5YdyjTfG0\">at his US Senate hearing<\/a>, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI\u2014which developed the ChatGPT AI chatbot\u2014was twice asked to spell out his worst-case scenario. He finally replied:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My worst fears are that we\u2014the field, the technology, the industry\u2014cause significant harm to the world \u2026 It&#8217;s why we started the company [to avert that future] \u2026 I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But while I am strongly in favor of being as careful as we possibly can be, and have been saying so publicly for the past ten years, it is important to maintain a sense of proportion\u2014particularly when discussing the extinction of a species of eight billion individuals.<\/p>\n<p>AI can create <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> problems that must really be averted. As scientists, we have a duty to understand them and then do our best to solve them. But the first step is to name and describe them\u2014and to be specific.<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    The Conversation<br \/>\n                                                                                                        <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\"><br \/>\n                                                        <svg><use href=\"https:\/\/techx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v2\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/if-were-going-to-label-ai-an-extinction-risk-we-need-to-clarify-how-it-could-happen-206738\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/206738\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                If we&#8217;re going to label AI an &#8216;extinction risk&#8217;, we need to clarify how it could happen (2023, May 31)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 31 May 2023<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2023-05-ai-extinction.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. 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Credit: Nouskrabs\/Shutterstock This week a group of well-known and reputable AI researchers signed a statement consisting of 22 words: &#8220;Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2023\/if-were-going-to-label.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-576790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}