For decades, Hollywood has shown humans such stories in which aliens attack Earth, machines turn against humans and a superpower tries to destroy all of humanity. People of America and Europe were greatly entertained by these imaginary threats. But when the same person appears in the form of AI, one feels scared. Big experts are saying that the danger is so big that the world can end at any time because of AI. Why is fear so deep?
In 2014, Stephen Hawking warned that AI could become so high-tech that it would start redesigning itself. According to him, humans are bound to the slow pace of biological growth, whereas machines can develop very fast. In such a situation, it may be difficult for humans to compete with AI.
Today this concern is being felt more because AI is no longer just a lab technology. Generative AI is being used in people’s everyday tasks and machines are doing such tasks which till a few years ago were considered possible only for humans. But this does not mean that the danger of humanity’s extinction is certain.
What is the biggest threat?
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also warned that risks could increase if business competition pushes companies to continually race to create faster and more powerful AI. That is, the danger is not only that an AI will suddenly turn against humans. There is also a more practical concern that powerful technology could fall into the wrong hands or that companies might compromise security under the pressure of competition.
Then why did the AI race not stop despite warnings?
As the warnings about the danger of AI increased, the competition among AI companies also became more intense. OpenAI was also started amidst this concern. The stated objective of the company was to advance digital intelligence in such a way that its benefits would be available to all humanity. But later differences emerged within OpenAI regarding security and rapid commercial development. Some employees left the company and later formed a new company like Anthropic.
Anthropic presents itself as an AI security and research company. But the irony is that one of its researchers, Jacob Coxon, recently alleged that AI companies are moving too fast towards self-improving superintelligence and are taking risks with human lives.
Is the real problem AI or the AI race?
Perhaps this is the most important question. A major reason for fear of AI is the potential of the technology as well as the competition between the companies developing it. Sarah Myers West of AI Now Institute argues that the thinking behind many companies is that if they do not create AI, some other company or country will. Therefore, despite considering itself a party to creating safe AI, it does not want to be left out of the race. This is pushing them further into the fire.
How big is the danger?
Very powerful AI systems can pose serious risks if they go out of human control. Second, AI can be used to carry out larger and more effective cyber attacks. Hospitals can be shut down. Electricity lines can be stopped. Concerns have also been raised about biological attacks due to misuse of AI. The rapid development of AI may bring major changes or serious disruptions to employment and the economy. The biggest question is that if AI becomes more capable than humans by continuously improving itself, will humans be able to maintain control over it?
Therefore, the threat of AI is not as direct and visible as Hollywood’s aliens. The real concern is how fast and how safely humans develop such technology. The basis of fear is not the existence of AI, but its increasing capability and the race to develop it.
