Top AI Expert Quits Google Cites Dangers!!, 4088

Good afternoon, I’m still reporting on worse news about the artificial intelligence revolution.

Artificial intelligence pioneer Prof. Geoffrey Hinton – aged 75 - recently resigned from Google and issued a warning about the risks the latest forms of AI, known as “Generative AI” - or “GAI” - will pose for the human race.

Hinton and his graduate students at the University of Toronto created the technology that became the foundation for AI systems which is now used by the biggest tech companies.

However, Hinton recently quit his job at Google, in order to speak out about the risks of GAI. Dr. Hinton said in an interview with the New York Times today:

“I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have.”

According to Hinton, the new “GAI” systems can analyze so much data that they can teach themselves behavior that surprises even their creators. Google’s GAI systems have developed “emergent properties”, that is, learned skills that were unprogrammed, like generating and even running their own code. In other words, GIA could easily develop past the point of human control. Hinton fears this could bring on an age of truly autonomous weapons – killer robots.

Hinton's resignation from Google is significant as he was once a strong advocate for AI technology. However, his view changed last year when he saw the power of the Generative AI systems developed by Google and OpenAI. Hinton believes that as companies continue to improve their AI systems, they become increasingly dangerous.

Google’s chief scientist Jeff Dean defended the company’s AI efforts.

“We remain committed to a responsible approach to A.I. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly,”

The risks of Generative AI are not just limited to job displacement. Hinton is also worried that the internet will be flooded with false photos, videos, and text, and the average person will not be able to distinguish what is true anymore. AI technologies could also upend the job market, replacing workers who handle tasks like paralegals, personal assistants, and translators.

According to some of Hinton's former students and colleagues, the threat of GAI technology to humanity is hypothetical. However, Hinton believes that the competition between Google, Microsoft, and other companies will escalate into a global race that cannot be stopped without some sort of global regulation. He believes that GAI development should not be scaled up further until scientists have understood how to control it.

As early as July 2015, Elon Musk, along with several other technology leaders, signed an open letter urging a ban on offensive autonomous weapons and calling for research into the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

Musk has been a vocal critic of AI development, warning that AI has the potential to become more intelligent than humans and could pose an existential threat to humanity if not properly managed.

In 2015, during an interview at MIT, Musk stated:

"AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs, or bad food [are] not."

When asked recently what his suggestion would be for preventing a robots-run-wild scenario for humanity, Musk simply suggested installing a kill switch.

The question is, is this one of the major reasons for Musk’s drive to colonize Mars with his Starship research and development program.

I’m still reporting from just outside the citadel of world freedom. Good day!