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Former Google CEO Says AI Poses an 'Existential Risk' That Puts Lives in Danger

posted by janrinok on Thursday May 25 2023, @10:41PM   Printer-friendly

upstart writes:

Eric Schmidt wants to prevent potential abuse of AI:

Add Eric Schmidt to the list of tech luminaries concerned about the dangers of AI. The former Google chief tells guests at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit that AI represents an "existential risk" that could get many people "harmed or killed." He doesn't feel that threat is serious at the moment, but he sees a near future where AI could help find software security flaws or new biology types. It's important to ensure these systems aren't "misused by evil people," the veteran executive says.

Schmidt doesn't have a firm solution for regulating AI, but he believes there won't be an AI-specific regulator in the US. He participated in a National Security Commission on AI that reviewed the technology and published a 2021 report determining that the US wasn't ready for the tech's impact.

Schmidt doesn't have direct influence over AI. However, he joins a growing number of well-known moguls who have argued for a careful approach. Current Google CEO Sundar Pichai has cautioned that society needs to adapt to AI, while OpenAI leader Sam Altman has expressed concern that authoritarians might abuse these algorithms. In March, numerous industry leaders and researchers (including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak) signed an open letter calling on companies to pause AI experiments for six months while they rethought the safety and ethical implications of their work.

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Friday May 26 2023, @12:58AM (2 children)

    by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 26 2023, @12:58AM (#1308241)
    I don't think the issue is that it'll be used for harm, I think the issue will be that it's used carelessly. The nuance here is that a business might use AI to make a lot of money but that business wouldn't care at all if its product puts millions out of work. I'm not sure how an inventor could reliably be held accountable for developing the foundation to get a business there. Kinda reminds me of Silicon Valley. "Who knew an enhancement in data compression would lead to SkyNet?"
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  • (Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Friday May 26 2023, @02:04AM

    by MIRV888 (11376) on Friday May 26 2023, @02:04AM (#1308246)

    Putting millions out of work for profit is just capitalism. It's been done before. Safe bet using tech to replace paid workers will happen again.

  • (Score: 2) by legont on Saturday May 27 2023, @01:10AM

    by legont (4179) on Saturday May 27 2023, @01:10AM (#1308408)

    The issue is that the big guys fall behind

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