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Fire good. AI better:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says artificial intelligence is going to have a bigger impact on the world than some of the most ubiquitous innovations in history. "AI is one of the most important things humanity is working on. It is more profound than, I dunno, electricity or fire," says Pichai, speaking at a town hall event in San Francisco in January.
A number of very notable tech leaders have made bold statements about the potential of artificial intelligence. Tesla boss Elon Musks says AI is more dangerous than North Korea. Famous physicist Stephen Hawking says AI could be the "worst event in the history of our civilization." And Y Combinator President Sam Altman likens AI to nuclear fission.
Even in such company, Pichai's comment seems remarkable. Interviewer and Recode executive editor Kara Swisher stopped Pichai when he made the comment. "Fire? Fire is pretty good," she retorts. Pichai sticks by his assertion. "Well, it kills people, too," Pichai says of fire. "We have learned to harness fire for the benefits of humanity but we had to overcome its downsides too. So my point is, AI is really important, but we have to be concerned about it."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 03 2018, @09:13PM
I could build a perfectly good AI system without electricity - using fluidic logic. Sure it would be slower than the electronic version, and use more energy, but I could do it - and so could others.
Yes, I would need a BIG budget.
However, I am more than 100% confident that the current set of projects are more likely to achieve artificial stupidity, so I am currently very busy not panicking.
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a robot.