- I have two pieces of news for you.
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The first is that more
than 1,000 experts in
artificial intelligence and
other sciences have signed
an open letter arguing
against the development of AI
for warfare at the International
Joint Conference on
Artificial Intelligence.
The second is that there's
an International Joint
Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
This year's conference
took place in Buenos Aires
and focused on all things
AI, not just how robots
could transform into dangerous weapons.
But this particular story is
really interesting, not just
because it clearly lays out
the case to stop AI weaponry
before it starts, but
also because of the people
who have already signed it.
Those people include Tesla CEO Elon Musk,
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak,
theoretical physicist Steven Hawking, and
MIT professor emeritus
Noam Chomsky, among others.
If you scan the names and
titles of the people attached
to this letter, you'll
recognize more than a few
organizations represented.
There are people from Google,
Microsoft, and hundreds
of universities on the list.
These are some seriously smart people.
So, what are they so concerned about?
The main focus of the
letter is how weaponized
artificial intelligence could create
a new global arms race,
one that would result in
a very dangerous situation
for millions of people.
As the letter says,
autonomous weapons have been
described as the third
revolution in warfare
after gunpowder and nuclear arms.
It goes on to say that if
these technologies are pursued,
a global arms race is
virtually inevitable, and the
end-point of this technological
trajectory is obvious.
Autonomous weapons will become the
Kalashnikovs of tomorrow.
So just imagine a Cold War
that is waged not with the
buildup of nuclear weapons,
but with armed robots.
Now, if you're looking at
warfare as a necessary evil,
an autonomous army seems
like a great choice.
It means you don't put
your own people at risk.
But that might also mean
that it lowers your threshold
for entering into a conflict.
You might be more willing to use force
because the stakes on
your side are so low.
So there's a fear that
these robots could make war
easier and more frequent,
not to mention what might
happen if terrorists or oppressive leaders
got hold of the technology.
The letter also makes the
point to stress that AI has
enormous benefits to humanity.
So it's not a warning about
Sky Net, or anything like that.
Also, nearly every story
I've seen talking about this
uses a picture of the
Terminator robot as art.
I'm not going to do that.
So here's a picture of Johnny
5 from Short Circuit 2.
(electronic music)
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