Artificial Intelligence could overwhelm us, this is the alarm of an expert on digital technology. AI doesn’t have a switch-off button.
Artificial Intelligence is the big craze of the moment.
In less than two years, since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was made public and widely used, AI has achieved astonishing goals, marking a before and after in several areas of knowledge and the way we interact with the company daily.
The progress has been of such magnitude that academics believe the year 2023 marked a historical milestone with the development of several tools based on Generative Artificial Intelligence, such as the DALL-E 2, Github’s Copilot, MidJourney, DeepMind’s AlphaCode programming problem-solving system, as well as new versions of ChatGPT, Bing and Gemini, which use advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to create new content, be they text, images, code or video, from descriptions or short instructions (prompts).
However, the euphoria is accompanied by fears about the impossibility of controlling the use of AI, as if once started there is no longer a button capable of turning it off when it can potentially cause damage. This is what Professor Martin Hilbert of the University of California, an internationally renowned academic who has dedicated his career to unraveling complex digitalized social systems, claims. In an interview given in El Colombiano, he raised an alarm about AI.
AI, beware of this risk
Professor Martin Hilbert offered his vision on the present and future of Artificial Intelligence, highlighting the challenges and opportunities this technology presents for society.
Furthermore, he highlighted how generative AI, in addition to being a tool of persuasion, is designed to improve our relationships, increasing empathy and emotional intelligence. “Now we can say that systems like ChatGPT are indistinguishable from humans in these interactions. Even here at the University of California, where we evaluate intelligence through admissions tests like the SAT, the average for humans is 65%, while ChatGPT is 90%.”
Surprising goals and extraordinary technological achievements, however, cannot obscure the dark spots of AI.
In this regard, Hilbert recalled that 20 years ago, in a philosophical conversation with a friend, he imagined what the world would be like if artificial intelligence existed.
“So, we established three rules”, he reminded, “ do not connect AI to the open Internet, prevent it from interacting with vulnerable people such as children and people with health problems mental, and make sure it cannot program itself to achieve superintelligence”.
However, this did not happen. The AI is integrated into all open processes, interacts with children, and writes code more efficiently than many of my students. “We’re past the point where we could just turn it off with a red button”, he cautioned. The alarm is that we will not be able to govern such a powerful and widespread phenomenon.
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How to manage Artificial Intelligence?
AI, which surpasses early humanity in terms of intelligence, is rapidly integrating into all sectors: economy, education, and even people’s personal health. This integration also encompasses areas such as politics and democracy, even if we do not fully understand its implications according to the professor.
This complexity and lack of understanding is not new in social sciences and adaptive systems such as economics or warfare. “Artificial Intelligence adds a layer of complexity to these systems and we must manage it with great care and respect, recognizing that we did not fully understand it in the first place and that we understand it even less now”, has explained.
What to do? With artificial intelligence, we must proceed without falling into anxiety.
The solution for its optimal management passes through two main paths for Hilbert. First, we must focus on mitigating the existential risks this technology poses by automating fundamental aspects of our species. This requires investing more resources in research and understanding the impact of artificial intelligence, as well as establishing oversight of algorithms to verify and control their use.
Secondly, we must explore how to positively exploit the benefits of AI, promoting its responsible integration into different social and economic processes. The challenge has begun.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-06-30 13:50:00. Original title: Non si può spegnere l’Intelligenza Artificiale, l’esperto lancia l’allarme
