Scientists and tech industry leaders warn that artificial intelligence poses a risk to humankind. They say preventing extinction from AI should be a global priority.
Worries about artificial intelligence systems outsmarting humans have intensified with the rise of ChatGPT and the European Union’s AI Act.
The latest warning was intentionally succinct to encompass a broad coalition of scientists who might not agree on the most likely risks or the best solutions to prevent them, said Dan Hendrycks, executive director of the Center for AI Safety.
More than 1,000 researchers and technologists had signed a letter earlier this year calling for a six-month pause on AI development, but Microsoft, Google and its partner OpenAI didn’t sign on.
Critics have complained that dire warnings about existential risks voiced by makers of AI have contributed to hyping up the capabilities of their products and distracting from calls for more immediate regulations to rein in their real-world problems.
