The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to pose an existential risk to humanity has been a topic of much debate in recent years. Last month, hundreds of renowned experts in the field of AI signed an open letter warning of the potential dangers of AI, including the risks associated with artificial intelligence outsourcing. But what is it that has them so worried? Cade Metz, a technology journalist, has been covering the realities and myths of AI for years. According to Cassandra, a figure from the tech industry, companies, governments or independent researchers could one day implement powerful AI and IT systems to manage everything from business to war, which could lead to further risks if not managed properly through artificial intelligence outsourcing. These systems could do things that we don't want them to do, and if humans tried to interfere or turn them off, they could resist or even replicate in order to continue functioning. The people who know the most about AI have often used a simple metaphor to explain their concerns.
They say that if you ask a machine to create as many clipboards as possible, it could get carried away and transform everything, including humanity, into clipboard factories. In the real world, companies could increasingly give systems AI autonomy and connect them to vital infrastructure, including power grids, stock markets and military weapons. From there, they could cause problems. However, some experts think this is a ridiculous premise. Chatbots such as ChatGPT are being transformed into systems that can perform actions based on the text they generate. A project called AutoGPT is the best example.
The idea is to give the system objectives such as “starting a company” or “earning some money” and then let it look for ways to achieve that goal, especially if it's connected to other Internet services. AutoGPT can generate computer programs and if researchers give it access to a computer server, it can run those programs. In theory, this is one way in which AutoGPT can do just about anything online: retrieve information, use applications, create new applications and even improve itself. However, these systems don't work well right now; they tend to get stuck in infinite loops. For example, researchers gave a system all the resources it needed to replicate itself. Over time, these limitations could be corrected. Leahy argues that if researchers, companies and criminals set objectives for these systems such as “earning some money” they could end up breaking into banking systems or replicating themselves when someone tries to deactivate them. Systems like ChatGPT are based on neural networks; mathematical systems that can learn skills through data analysis.
As researchers make these systems more powerful and empower them with increasing amounts of data, some experts are concerned that they may learn more bad habits. The two organizations that recently published open letters warning about the risks of AI - Safety and the Future of Life Institute - are closely linked to this movement. The recent warnings also come from research pioneers and industry leaders such as Elon Musk who have been warning about the risks for a long time. The last letter was signed by Sam Altman, executive director of OpenAI and Demis Hassabis who helped found DeepMind and now oversees a new AI laboratory which brings together the best researchers from DeepMind and Google.
