MP’s have been warned that a rogue artificial intelligence system could kill everyone and the technology must be regulated in the same was as nuclear weapons.
According to The Times:
Researchers from Oxford University told the science and technology committee that AI could eventually pose an “existential threat” to humanity. Just as humans wiped out the dodo, the machines might eradicate us, they said.
Michael Cohen, a doctoral student, said: “With superhuman AI there is a particular risk that is of a different sort of class, which is . . . it could kill everyone.”
He added: “If you imagine training a dog with treats: it will learn to pick actions that lead to it getting treats, but if the dog finds the treat cupboard, it can get the treats itself without doing what we wanted it to do.”
MPs were told that the AI industry had evolved into a “literal arms race”, with rival states rushing to develop applications for military and civilian use.
Michael Osborne, professor of machine learning at the University of Oxford, said: “I think the bleak scenario is realistic because AI is attempting to bottle what makes humans special — that [quality] has led to humans completely changing the face of the Earth.”
He added: “Artificial systems could become as good at outfoxing us geopolitically as they are in the simple environments of games.
“There are some reasons for hope in that we have been pretty good at regulating the use of nuclear weapons. AI is as comparable a danger as nuclear weapons.”
