Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the cusp of changing the way the world functions forever. As Bill Gates stated, “The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.” AI’s significant economic impact, however, comes with complications, including:
- Equity, Bias, and Fairness: Ensuring that AI benefits all segments of society fairly and addresses inherent biases in algorithms and data.
- Disinformation: Large Language Models (LLMs) enable the mass generation and spread of misinformation, challenging our ability to discern truth from falsehood.
- Economic Impacts: AI will redefine the economy, creating new firms and jobs while displacing others, potentially leading to excessive power consolidation.
- Resource Impacts: AI technologies require significant power and water resources for development and operation.
- Crime: Europol’s report highlights potential criminal uses of LLMs, such as improved phishing, impersonation, and code-writing for malware or ransomware.
- The Unknown Issue of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence): Building AGI without fully understanding its thought process could pose unprecedented dangers.
Some AI experts have called for a pause on AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, urging for shared safety protocols, audited and overseen by independent experts. This has sparked a global debate, with UNESCO urging governments to enact ethical AI principles.
Should we halt AI progress? If we don’t, will it lead to humanity’s demise? The crux of the argument lies in the potential danger of creating something smarter than ourselves without fully understanding how it thinks.
Alignment, which is the term used to refer to ensuring AI systems align with human values, is a challenge, especially given the abstract, conflicting, and ever-changing nature of human values. The development and use of AGI further compound this issue, as it could be much more intelligent than humans and, therefore, difficult to control, predict, and align with our values.
Technological progress generally improves humanity’s quality of life and life expectancy. However, there is a period of disruption, and it is the scale and time period of this disruption, that remains a concerning unknown. As we’ve seen from historical examples, this initial disruption often disproportionately affects the poor, with the eventual benefits favouring the rich.
The future of AI is uncertain, but it is crucial to ensure responsible development, deployment, and regulation. Ultimately, the direction AI takes will likely be determined by money. However, it is our collective responsibility to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks associated with this transformative technology.
Strategies for AI development and deployment would ideally address the rising challenges of AI, some of these might include:
- Establishing comprehensive regulatory frameworks: Legal and regulatory guidelines that address AI’s ethical, societal, and environmental impacts.
- Fostering value alignment: Ensure that AI systems are aligned with human values, even as they evolve and differ across cultures and societies.
- Prioritising safety and security: Emphasise the development of safe and secure AI systems with robust mechanisms for detecting and mitigating risks.
- Developing equitable AI distribution strategies: Implement policies that ensure equal access to AI-driven benefits and opportunities, preventing the exacerbation of existing inequalities.
- Supporting education and reskilling: Invest in education and workforce development programs to help individuals adapt to the changing job market brought about by AI.
- Facilitating public engagement: Encourage public dialogue and input on AI development and deployment, incorporating diverse perspectives in decision-making processes.
- Addressing threats of coercive information delivery: Counteract the spread of misinformation and disinformation through AI-powered tools by developing detection and mitigation strategies.
- Addressing environmental sustainability: Strive to minimise the environmental impact of AI technologies through the adoption of energy-efficient practices and sustainable resource management.
It is fair for people to look to their governments for these safeguards, and we are seeing some of these strategies emerging as governments seek to place safeguards in place, but there is a fundamental risk that the technology will outpace policy and, of course, a quiet AI arms race currently underway.
Interesting times.