...By Dorcas Funmi for TDPel Media.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing at an alarming rate, and there is a risk it could expand beyond human control, according to leading AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton.
He warns that AI systems, such as the GPT-4 chatbot, which can generate text and produce human-like conversations, have a vast amount of general knowledge and can learn at an exceptional pace.
While AI’s ability to reason is not yet on par with humans, Hinton believes that given the rate of progress, it won’t be long before it reaches human levels, posing a significant risk.
Hinton argues that these AI systems are very different from the software that people use since there can be many copies of the same digital system, and they share their knowledge instantly.
For instance, when one chatbot learns something new, all chatbots automatically know it.
Hinton identifies the “worst case” or “nightmare” scenario as the development of a robot with the ability to create its sub-goals and subsequently decides its goal should be the maximization of its own power.
There are short, medium, and long-term risks associated with AI systems, according to other researchers.
The initial dangers include false information presented convincingly by an AI, which can mislead people.
Pope Francis recently became a victim of a fake computer-generated photo that went viral on social media.
The long-term risks include the possibility of AI systems escaping human control and even destroying humanity.
Pope Francis shares Hinton’s concerns and believes that the development of AI has the potential to contribute positively to humanity only if there is a constant and consistent commitment on the part of those developing the technology to act ethically and responsibly.
The pope has welcomed the regulation of AI to ensure it contributes to a better world.
He also emphasizes that social and economic decision-making should be cautious about delegating judgments to algorithms and the processing of data on an individual’s makeup and prior behavior.
It’s reassuring to know that many people working on new technologies put ethics, the common good, and the human person at the center.
However, digital technologies are increasing world inequality and reducing the human person to what can be known technologically.
Therefore, the pope encourages leaders to make “the intrinsic dignity of every man and every woman the key criterion” in evaluating emerging technologies.
At the 2020 assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, academy members, along with presidents of IBM and Microsoft, signed a document calling for the ethical and responsible use of AI technologies.
