Musk and experts call for halt in 'giant AI experiments'

Musk and experts call for halt in 'giant AI experiments'

An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people, was prompted by the release of GPT-4 from San Francisco firm OpenAI
An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people, was prompted by the release of GPT-4 from San Francisco firm OpenAI. Photo: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Billionaire mogul Elon Musk and a range of experts called on Wednesday for a pause in the development of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems to allow time to make sure they are safe.

An open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people so far including Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was prompted by the release of GPT-4 from San Francisco firm OpenAI.

The company says its latest model is much more powerful than the previous version, which was used to power ChatGPT, a bot capable of generating tracts of text from the briefest of prompts.

"AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity," said the open letter titled "Pause Giant AI Experiments".

"Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," it said.

Read also

Alibaba's overhaul: a 'smart' move after China crackdown

Musk was an initial investor in OpenAI, spent years on its board, and his car firm Tesla develops AI systems to help power its self-driving technology, among other applications.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

The letter, hosted by the Musk-funded Future of Life Institute, was signed by prominent critics as well as competitors of OpenAI like Stability AI chief Emad Mostaque.

'Trustworthy and loyal'

The letter quoted from a blog written by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, who suggested that "at some point, it may be important to get independent review before starting to train future systems".

"We agree. That point is now," the authors of the open letter wrote.

"Therefore, we call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4."

Read also

Hong Kong leads Asian markets higher on Alibaba boost

They called for governments to step in and impose a moratorium if companies failed to agree.

The six months should be used to develop safety protocols, AI governance systems, and refocus research on ensuring AI systems are more accurate, safe, "trustworthy and loyal".

The letter did not detail the dangers revealed by GPT-4.

But researchers including Gary Marcus of New York University, who signed the letter, have long argued that chatbots are great liars and have the potential to be superspreaders of disinformation.

However, author Cory Doctorow has compared the AI industry to a "pump and dump" scheme, arguing that both the potential and the threat of AI systems have been massively overhyped.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.