Elon Musk and Experts Call for Pause on Development of Powerful AI Systems
Expert Letter Co-Signed by Elon Musk Cites Risks to Society and Humanity from Advanced AI
29 March 2023
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Kunal Tyagi
An open letter signed by Elon Musk and more than 1,000 academics call for a six-month moratorium on the creation of sophisticated AI systems stronger than OpenAI's ChatGPT-4.
The Future of Life Institute wrote the letter emphasizing the possible dangers posed by such technologies to society and mankind and demanding the creation of standard operating procedures.
The letter's worries come as Europol issues a warning about the possible abuse of cutting-edge AI systems in phishing scams, misinformation campaigns, and criminality.
More than 1,000 researchers and business leaders, including Elon Musk, have signed an open letter calling for a six-month moratorium on the creation of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that are more potent than OpenAI's ChatGPT-4. The letter, which was published by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, highlights possible dangers that such technologies pose to society and humans.
The letter proposes a halt to the creation of sophisticated AI until common safety rules for such systems are created, put into place, and independently inspected by experts. The signatories have demanded that potent AI systems only be created when their impacts are favorable and their hazards are under control.
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The letter also discusses the possible hazards that human-competitive AI systems pose to society and civilization in the form of political and economic upheavals. Developers are urged to collaborate with policymakers on matters of governance and regulatory bodies by the signatories. The letter's worries come as the EU police agency Europol issues a warning about the possible abuse of cutting-edge AI systems like ChatGPT in phishing scams, misinformation campaigns, and criminality.
The UK government recently suggested an adaptable regulatory framework for AI, rather than creating a new body specifically for the technology, splitting responsibilities for regulating the technology amongst its regulators for human rights, health and safety, and competition.
Since Microsoft supported OpenAI's ChatGPT was released last year, competitors have accelerated the creation of analogous big language models and businesses have incorporated generative AI models into their products. The letter is not signed by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and no comments from OpenAI have been made as of yet. The letter was applauded by some experts for emphasizing the importance of better comprehending the effects of creating cutting-edge AI systems.