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Some of the biggest names in technology are calling for a temporary pause on artificial intelligence developments amid concerns the industry could be getting ahead of itself.
Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and several other big names in computer science and tech signed an open letter last week, requesting a pause on the "out-of-control" AI race.
If the tech industry itself is concerned about its own developmental products---the public better take heed.
Be informed, not misled.
A growing concern among AI creators.
CBS News is reporting, "Some of the biggest names in tech are calling for artificial intelligence labs to stop the training of the most powerful AI systems for at least six months, citing "profound risks to society and humanity."
Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Steve Wozniak are among the hundreds of tech leaders, professors, and researchers who signed the letter, which was published by the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit backed by Musk.
CBS says:
The letter, which was also signed by the CEO of OpenAI, said the pause should apply to AI systems "more powerful than GPT-4." It also said independent experts should use the proposed pause to jointly develop and implement a set of shared protocols for AI tools that are safe "beyond a reasonable doubt."
"Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources," the letter said. "Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one -- not even their creators -- can understand, predict, or reliably control."
If a pause is not put in place soon, the letter said governments should step in and create a moratorium.
Artificial intelligence experts have become increasingly concerned about AI tools' potential for biased responses, the ability to spread misinformation, and the impact on consumer privacy. These tools have also sparked questions around how AI can upend professions, enable students to cheat, and shift our relationship with technology.
The letter hints at the broader discomfort inside and outside the industry with the rapid pace of advancement in AI.
Some governing agencies in China, the EU, and Singapore have previously introduced early versions of AI governance frameworks.
Does this mean AI is capable of replacing elected politicians in making policy and governing the people who elected them?
The quick answer is yes.
The "letter" asks, "Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete, and replace us? Should we risk the loss of control of our civilization?"
AI in politics.
The Times says, "The Democratic Party has begun testing the use of artificial intelligence to write first drafts of some fund-raising messages, appeals that often perform better than those written entirely by human beings."
They noted, "Fake A.I. images of Donald J. Trump getting arrested in New York spread faster than they could be fact-checked last week."
And voice-cloning tools are producing vividly lifelike audio of President Biden — and many others — saying things they did not actually say.
Artificial intelligence isn’t just coming soon to the 2024 campaign trail. It’s already here" we're told.
The technology is evolving so fast that most predict a profound impact---but are uncertain as to what, exactly, that impact will look like.
The swift advance of A.I. promises to be as disruptive to the political sphere as to broader society. Now any amateur with a laptop can manufacture the kinds of convincing sounds and images that were once the domain of the most sophisticated digital players. This democratization of disinformation is blurring the boundaries between fact and fake at a moment when the acceptance of universal truths...is already being strained.
Concerns about ethics.
Part of that 5% cut of the company's workforce included employees with Microsoft's ethics and society department.
The outlet Platformer, which focuses on Silicon Valley's role in the country and how it works within the framework of U.S. legislation, reported that as Microsoft continues to build up its ChatGPT AI project, it made its "entire ethics and society team within the artificial intelligence organization" redundant.
Emily Bender, a scholar on computational linguistics and ethics issues at the University of Washington, says what struck her most about the Platformer report is the claim that executives with Microsoft described "the urgency to move 'AI models into the hands of customers."
MSFT lays off its responsible AI team
— @emilymbender@dair-community.social on Mastodon (@emilymbender) March 14, 2023
The thing that strikes me most about this story from @ZoeSchiffer and @CaseyNewton is the way in which the MSFT execs describe the urgency to move "AI models into the hands of customers"https://t.co/d7r3ljUF9D
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A new assault on Christianity?
How long will it be before Artificial Intelligence intersects with Christianity---and God's Truth?
I'm reminded of 2 Timothy 4:3-4 - "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears."
And 2 Timothy 3:13 - "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."
Think what Satan could do with well-developed Artificial Intelligence.
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.