Elon Musk and Other Tech Executives Calls for Pause on All AI Experiments

Jimmy Aki
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More than 1,300 tech leaders, including Elon Musk, have signed an open letter calling for a pause on experiments on artificial intelligence (AI) systems for six months, citing severe risk to humanity and its entirety.

Union of Tech Gurus Against Continuous Development of Giant AI

Tesla founder Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak are among the tech professors, experts, and researchers who signed an open letter published by the Future of Life Institute (FOLI) on March 22nd.

The letter comes just two weeks after the open-source artificial intelligence (OpenAI) platform officially announced GPT 4, arguably the most powerful version of technology that underpins its other AI tools, notably ChatGPT.

Tested by researchers, the new GPT-4 AI has shown versatile capabilities as it was able to seamlessly draft lawsuits, build a website from hand sketch, pass examinations, write a programming language, and many more.

As detailed in the open letter, the proposed six months pause should apply to all AI systems more powerful than the new GPT-4 launched by the OpenAI company.

It also stated that all independent researchers and experts should use the six-month break to create a spate of shared protocols compatible with AI tools. This will create a more safe environment for humans to thrive.

The letter further asserts that artificial intelligence could create a new era in the history of life on Earth, hence why proper commensurate care and management resources should be adhered to.

However, this has yet to be the case, as there are no known plans or management policies to guide the development of AI tools.

The past few months have seen a series of AI labs locked in their goal to create giant tools that embed powerful digital minds that cannot be deciphered, predicted, and controlled by creators and users.

While most AI experts are against continuing these developments, some pundits have stalled on signing the petition, including Ben Goertzel, the CEO of SigularityNET.

Goertzel emphasized via a Twitter response to Gary Marcus, the author of Rebooting on March 29th, that AI tools are geared towards the betterment of society rather than the catalyst for humanity’s mayhem.

It remains a controversial debate on whether developing more AIs is needed in today’s society.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, AI Labs have created several lookalikes to simplify writing and generate images in seconds.

Several technology corporations, such as IBM, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have already supported and deployed these tools in their ecosystems.

However, the launch of GPT-4 has caused a strong wave of attention due to its powerful digital functionalities, which, if not monitored, can potentially destroy society and humanity.

This is why AI experts and executives have come together to stop its development before colossal impact sets in. There are increased concerns over the impact on consumer privacy, biased reports, the spread of misinformation, and uncontrollable digital minds.

These tools have also aroused fear about how AI can upend careers, limit how school students harness their problem-solving skillset, and optimize shifts in current technology.

Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital, has reportedly stated his surprise about AI’s vast, unchecked development. He stresses that the crypto market is often full of regulatory attention and lawsuit slams while little goes towards AIs.

It is worth noting that countries, including China, Singapore, the EU, and many more, have come together to introduce a secure protocol version that oversees all artificial intelligence (AI) development frameworks.

While it is unlikely that the signatories of the open letter published by the Future of Life Institute (FOLI) may hold water, the government may need to hit the AI space with a moratorium.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.