ELON MUSK AND STEPHEN HAWKING ARE AMONG SOME
OF THE SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE
SIGNED A LETTER URGING RESEARCHERS TO CALM DOWN WITH
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
THEY ARGUE THAT ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, AND SPECIFICALLY
AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS, COULD LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF SOCIETY ON
A WHOLE.
ME GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE LETTER SAYS.
"IN A
LETTER UNVEILED AS RESEARCHERS GATHERED AT THE INTERNATIONAL
JOINT CONFERENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN WINDOWS ERRORS
ON MONDAY, THE SIGNATORIES ARGUE THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROBOTS
CAPABLE OF KILLING WHILE ON TETHERED TO HUMAN OPERATORS IS
FEASIBLE WITHIN YEARS, NOT DECADES.
IF THE VELVET IS NOT
CUT OFF, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE WEAPONS AND UP
IN THE HANDS OF TERRORISTS AND WARLORDS, THEY SAID.
IF ANY
MAJOR MILITARY POWER PUSHES
AHEAD WITH AI INTELLIGENCE WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT, A
GLOBAL ARMS RACE IS VIRTUALLY INEVITABLE, AND THE
ENDPOINT OF THIS TECHNOLOGICAL TRAJECTORY IS OBVIOUS.
I'M A ñ
AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS WILL BECOME THE COST OF TOMORROW.
THIS IS SUPER INTERESTING TO ME.
THESE GUYS ARE NOT
LIGHTWEIGHTS, THESE ARE NOT CONSPIRACY THEORIES.
ELON MUSK IS
NOT ONLY THE HEAD OF SPACE X, BUT ALSO TESLA.
HE IS THE ONLY
GUY IN AMERICA THAT HAS FOUNDED TWO DIFFERENT BILLION-DOLLAR
COMPANIES.
ITíS AMAZING, LET ALONE JUST THE SCIENTIFIC
BREAKTHROUGHS THAT HE COMES UP
WITH.
HE SAYS THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THIS CONTEXT IS
HUMANITY'S "BIGGEST EXISTENTIAL
THREAT."
HAWKING, WHO IS CONSIDERED PERHAPS THE SMARTEST
MAN ALIVE SAYS, " ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD BE THE
BIGGEST BREAKTHROUGH IN HUMAN HISTORY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT
MIGHT ALSO BE THE LAST."
THESE
ARE WEIGHTY STATEMENTS.
I ALMOST
CANNOT BELIEVE HOW OUT THERE THESE STATEMENTS ARE, BUT THESE
ARE SMART GUYS, AND THEY ARE NOT ALONE.
STEVE WOZNIAK, NOAM
CHOMSKY, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
COMPANY ñ
EVEN HE SIGNED IT.
I WONDER IF HE CITED BECAUSE OF MONOPOLY
REASONS.
I DON'T KNOW HIS INTENTIONS ARE, WHO CARES, BUT
WHAT I WANT TO DO REAL QUICKLY IS JUST DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN
THE USE OF THINGS LIKE DRONES AND AUTONOMOUS WEAPONRY.
WITH
AUTONOMOUS WEAPONRY, IT IS NOT ATTACHED TO A HUMAN BEING AT
ALL, IT IS AUTONOMOUS.
WITH THRONES, WE ALREADY HAVE AN
ISSUE WITH KILLING PEOPLE BEING LESS PERSONABLE.
YOU ARE IN A
REMOTE LOCATION, YOU USE A DRONE AND PEOPLE ARE DYING AS A
RESULT OF THAT.
WITH AUTONOMOUS WEAPONRY, THERE ARE NO PEOPLE ATTACHED TO
IT AT ALL, WHICH TAKES THE MORALITY OUT OF SOMETHING
AS SERIOUS AS KILLING SOMEONE.
WE CANNOT HAVE IT.
THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THAT PART IS
CRAZY TALK.
IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AND AIR CLEANING YOUR HOUSE, THAT'S ONE THING, BUT THE
MILITARY IS TALKING ABOUT FIRST USING THEM TO FIND BOMBS, THAT
IS OKAY TOO, THOUGH THAT IS
FIRST.
THEY SHOW YOU HOW THE ROBOT CAN GO TO FUSE THE BOMB,
AND THEN THEY SAID NOW FOR THE
SECRET PORTION WILL TAKE THE DEFENSE SECRETARY BACK WITH
ARNOLD PORTER'S.
FINISH OF THEM
HOW THE ROBOTS COULD KILL PEOPLE.
LOOK, IT'S BEHIND
DOORS, AND THERE ARE SOME ASSUMPTIONS, BUT THESE GUYS
THINK IT IS WHOLLY MERITED.
SEPARATE THE NONKILLING ROBOTS
FROM THE KILLING ROBOTS THAT ARE NOT ATTACHED TO HUMAN BEINGS,
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE AGAINST THAT.
WE ARE SAYING THAT RIGHT NOW THERE IS A GUY IN TAMPA THAT
OPERATES THE DRONE, AND OFTEN TIMES THEY HAVE SKETCHY
INTELLIGENCE.
THEY CALL IT
SIGNAL INTELLIGENCE.
THEY SAY, THERE IS A CELL PHONE THAT A
TARGET ONCE USED, WE DETECT IT ON THE GROUND, WHO IS HOLDING IT?
WE DON'T KNOW, BUT AT LEAST THERE IS A HUMAN BEING WHO
PRESSES THE BUTTON.
IN THIS CASE THERE WOULD BE AUTONOMOUS
ROBOTS WHO ARE KILLING MACHINES, THERE IS NO MORALITY.
THEY JUST
GO, I HAVE LOCATED X, OR Y, OR Z, IN WHATEVER MECHANICAL
COMPUTATION THEY MADE, THEY
PRESS THE BUTTON ON THEIR OWN.
WE CANNOT HAVE THAT.
THAT IS
CRAZY.
WITH ALL TECHNOLOGY YOU HAVE TO DO A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.
WITH ALL TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED BY FAR, THERE HAS
BEEN A LOT OF GREAT THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF IT AND ALSO A LOT OF
ABUSE.
COMING WITH THE INTERNET, FOR AN INSTANCE.
A
LOT OF GREAT THINGS CAME OUT OF THE INTERNET, A LOT OF ABUSES AS
WELL.
THE COSTS ARE NOT AS BAD AS THE BENEFITS, BUT AT THE SAME
TIME, WITH SOMETHING LIKE AUTONOMOUS WEAPONRY AND
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, I FEEL LIKE THE DOWNSIDES ARE MORE
SIGNIFICANT THAN THE UPSIDES.
LET'S SAY YOU TAKE THE KILLING
PART OF IT OUT, AND YOU LOOK AT THE MORE BENIGN PART OF IT,
I GUESS, I MEAN WHAT?
ARE WE GOING TO HAVE ROBOTS TAKING OUR JOBS?
THAT WOULD BE A DISASTER.
TO SOME DEGREE THAT ALREADY HAPPENS, AND WILL HAPPEN MORE,
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
IF YOU PROGRAM A ROBOT TO
ELIMINATE THREATS, WHAT IF YOU DECIDE TO SHUT THE ROBOT DOWN
AND IT TAKES THAT AS A THREAT?
YOU WOULD BE THREATENING IT.
I HOPE YOU WILL
PROGRAM IN A WAY THAT IT DOES NOT VIEW YOU AS A THREAT.
NOW WE'RE GETTING INTO SCIENCE FICTION, BUT AGAIN, THE SMARTEST
PEOPLE ON THE PLANET ARE TELLING YOU IT IS NOT REALLY SCIENCE
FICTION.
ONCE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, WE
DO NOT REALLY KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT, AND THAT IS
PRETTY SCARY.
SO, LET END ON THAT NOTE.
IF YOU THOUGHT OUR HUMAN COPS WERE BAD, WAIT UNTIL YOU GET A
LOAD OF ROBOCOP.