Hit pause on AI development, Elon Musk and others urge

Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives have called for a six-month pause in developing a system more powerful than OpenAI’s recently launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society and humanity.

Earlier this month, Microsoft-backed OpenAI unveiled the fourth iteration of its GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) AI program, which has been surprising users with a variety of applications, from users in human-like conversations to creating songs and long summaries. document.

The letter, issued by the non-profit Future of Life Institute and signed by more than 1,000 people including Musk, calls for a pause in the development of advanced AI until a shared security protocol for its design is developed, implemented and audited by independent experts.

“Strong AI systems should be developed only if we are confident that the effects will be positive and the risks manageable,” the letter said.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The letter outlines the potential risks to society and civilization posed by human-competitive AI systems in the form of economic and political disruption, and calls on developers to work with policy makers on government and authorities.

Co-signatories include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, a researcher at Alphabet-owned DeepMind, and AI heavyweight Yoshua Bengio, often referred to as one of the “godfathers of AI,” and Stuart Russell, a research pioneer in the field.

According to the European Union’s transparency register, the Future of Life Institute is mainly funded by the Musk Foundation, as well as the effective altruism group in London Founders Pledge, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Potential for abuse

The concerns come as European Union police force Europol on Monday joined ethical and legal concerns about advanced AI like ChatGPT, warning of possible misuse of the system in phishing, disinformation and cybercrime efforts.

Meanwhile, the UK government announced proposals for an “adaptable” regulatory framework around AI.

The government’s approach, outlined in a policy paper published on Wednesday, would divide responsibility for regulating artificial intelligence (AI) between human rights, health and safety, and competition regulators, rather than creating a new body dedicated to the technology.

Musk, whose automaker Tesla uses AI for its autopilot system, has been vocal about his concerns about AI.

Since its launch last year, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has led competitors to accelerate the development of similar large language models, and companies are incorporating generative AI models into their products.

WATCH | Is ChatGPT coming for your project?

Last week, OpenAI announced that it has partnered with about a dozen companies to build services into chatbots, allowing ChatGPT users to order groceries through Instacart, or book flights through Expedia.

‘We have to slow down’

Sam Altman, chief executive at OpenAI, has not yet signed the letter, a spokesperson at Future of Life told Reuters.

“The letter is not perfect, but the spirit is right: we need to slow down until we better understand the consequences,” said Gary Marcus, a professor at New York University who signed the letter. “The big players are becoming increasingly secretive about what they’re doing, which makes it difficult for the public to defend anything they do.”

Critics accused the letter’s signatories of promoting “AI hype,” arguing that claims about the technology’s current potential have been exaggerated.

“This type of statement is meant to raise hype. It means to make people worry,” Johanna Björklund, AI researcher and associate professor at Umeå University. “I don’t think there’s any need to pull the handbrake.”

Instead of pausing research, he said, AI researchers should comply with greater transparency requirements.

“If you’re doing AI research, you have to be very transparent about how you’re doing it.”