Musk, Experts Urge AI Pause, Citing ‘Risks to Society’

Hundreds of artificial intelligence experts and industry leaders are urging for a suspension in development of some AI technology. They say that the most powerful AI technology could present extreme risks to humanity and social order.

The group released an open letter about the issue this/last week. It referenced the recent release of a fourth version of the popular AI program ChatGPT.

"We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than" ChatGPT-4," the letter says.

The product comes from Microsoft-backed developer OpenAI. It performs human-like discussions and creative abilities.

"Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter continues.

The non-profit group Future of Life Institute released the letter signed by about a thousand AI scientists, experts and industry members, including Elon Musk¹.

The Musk Foundation is the main financial backer of Future of Life. It also receives money from the London-based group Founders² Pledge, and Silicon³ Valley Community Foundation.

Elon Musk is one of the co-founders of OpenAI. His electric car company, Tesla, uses AI in models with self-driving systems.

Musk has been critical about efforts to regulate the self-driving system. But, now, he is hoping an agency is created to make sure the development of AI serves the public.

"It is ... deeply hypocritical for Elon Musk to sign on given how hard Tesla has fought against" AI regulation in his self-driving cars, said James Grimmelmann. He is a professor of digital and information law at Cornell University.

Last month, Tesla had to recall from owners more than 362,000 of its U.S. vehicles. The company had to update software after U.S. regulators said the driver assistance system could cause crashes. At the time, Musk tweeted that the word "recall" for a software update is "just flat wrong!"

However, Grimmelmann did not disagree with the idea of a temporary break. "A pause is a good idea," he said, "but the letter is vague and doesn't take the regulatory problems seriously."

The letter suggests shared safety measures could be developed during the proposed suspension. It also calls on developers to work with policymakers on governance.

The letter noted⁴ danger linked especially to "human-competitive intelligence."

The writers ask, "Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart...and replace us?" They also say that such decisions should not be made by "unelected tech leaders."

Yoshua Bengio, often described as one of the "godfathers of AI," was also a signer. Stuart Russell, a lead researcher in the field, put his name on the letter as well. Business leaders who signed include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque.

The concerns come as U.S. lawmakers begin to question ChatGPT's effect on national security and education. The European Union police force warned recently about the possible misuse⁵ of the system in phishing attempts, disinformation and crime.

Gary Marcus is a professor at New York University who signed the letter. He said development should slow until more is learned. "The letter isn't perfect, but the spirit is right: we need to slow down until we better understand" the technology, he said.

Since its release last year, ChatGPT has led other companies like Google to create similar AI systems.

Suresh Venkatasubramanian is a professor at Brown University and former assistant director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

He said that a lot of the power to create these systems is usually in the hands of a few large companies.

"That's how these models are, they're hard to build and they're hard to democratize."

Words in This Story

confident — adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

positive — adj. good or useful

regulate — v. to make rules or laws that control

hypocritical — adj. a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs

vague — adj. not clear in meaning

recall — v. to remember from the past

phishing — n. the practice of sending emails pretending to be from real companies in order to get individuals to reveal personal information

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。