WARNING: A.I. Will Kill Us All
Artificial intelligence is is usually considered something positive, but according to some of the most intelligent (human) minds of our time, A.I. could spell the end of the human race…
Professor Hawking had a lot to say about AI – the dangers, the opportunities and what we should be thinking about, not just as scientists and technologists, but as humans.
Hawking remained cautious and consistent in his views on the topic until his death on March 14, 2018, urging AI developers to consider the wider implications of their work on society and the human race itself. The AI community is quite divided on the issues Hawking raised and will no doubt continue to be... until AI kills us all (I added a little dark humor for affect).
Professor Hawking had a lot to say about AI – the dangers, the opportunities and what we should be thinking about, not just as scientists and technologists, but as humans.
Hawking remained cautious and consistent in his views on the topic until his death on March 14, 2018, urging AI developers to consider the wider implications of their work on society and the human race itself. The AI community is quite divided on the issues Hawking raised and will no doubt continue to be... until AI kills us all (I added a little dark humor for affect).
"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race….It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded."
- Professor Stephen Hawking in an interview with the BBC, December 2014
"The genie is out of the bottle. We need to move forward on artificial intelligence development but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans."
- Professor Stephen Hawking in an interview with Wired, November 2017
- Professor Stephen Hawking in an interview with the BBC, December 2014
"The genie is out of the bottle. We need to move forward on artificial intelligence development but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans."
- Professor Stephen Hawking in an interview with Wired, November 2017
Could Hawking have been right? Could AI really be the biggest threat to the future of humanity? But he wasn't the only genius who believed AI to be a threat to humanity.
Elon Musk, CEO of the electric car company Tesla, has been a very outspoken critic of AI, declaring it the most serious threat to the survival of the human race.
Musk, a technology entrepreneur, is often compared with Tony Stark from Marvel’s Iron Man comics for his role in cutting-edge companies including Space X, a privateer space exploration company that holds the first private contracts from Nasa for resupply of the International Space Station.
Alongside Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and the actor Ashton Kutcher, Musk is one of the high-profile investors in Vicarious, a company aiming to build a computer that can think like a person, including a neural network capable of replicating the part of the brain that controls body movement, language and vision.
He recently described his investments in AI research as “keeping an eye on what’s going on”, rather than viable return on capital.
Musk made the following comments to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during an interview at the AeroAstro Centennial Symposium, talking about AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
Musk, a technology entrepreneur, is often compared with Tony Stark from Marvel’s Iron Man comics for his role in cutting-edge companies including Space X, a privateer space exploration company that holds the first private contracts from Nasa for resupply of the International Space Station.
Alongside Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and the actor Ashton Kutcher, Musk is one of the high-profile investors in Vicarious, a company aiming to build a computer that can think like a person, including a neural network capable of replicating the part of the brain that controls body movement, language and vision.
He recently described his investments in AI research as “keeping an eye on what’s going on”, rather than viable return on capital.
Musk made the following comments to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during an interview at the AeroAstro Centennial Symposium, talking about AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful. I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish.”
- Elon Musk speaking to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
“With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like – yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon. Doesn’t work out,”
- Elon Musk speaking to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
"Global competition to be the country with the most sophisticated AI will be the cause of the next world war. The country winning in artificial intelligence will be the ruler of the world."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association responding to a story about Russian president Putin predicting the country winning in artificial intelligence "will be the ruler of the world."
"I have exposure to the most cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned by it. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs or bad food were not — they were harmful to a set of individuals within society, of course, but they were not harmful to society as a whole."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association
"Governments will force companies to turn over AI tech at gunpoint."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association
"AI will be the best or worst thing ever for humanity."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association
- Elon Musk speaking to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
“With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like – yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon. Doesn’t work out,”
- Elon Musk speaking to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about AI, space exploration and the colonization of Mars.
"Global competition to be the country with the most sophisticated AI will be the cause of the next world war. The country winning in artificial intelligence will be the ruler of the world."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association responding to a story about Russian president Putin predicting the country winning in artificial intelligence "will be the ruler of the world."
"I have exposure to the most cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned by it. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization in a way that car accidents, airplane crashes, faulty drugs or bad food were not — they were harmful to a set of individuals within society, of course, but they were not harmful to society as a whole."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association
"Governments will force companies to turn over AI tech at gunpoint."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association
"AI will be the best or worst thing ever for humanity."
- Elon Musk speaking to the National Governors Association
Musk recommends the book "Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence", by MIT professor Max Tegmark. Musk says the book is "worth reading."
But the most damning quote comes not from some celebrity scientist, but from the mouth of an AI robot itself,
Check out the scariest things said by AI robots in the video below! From predicting the future to the extinction of the human race, these creepy artificial intelligence bots say some really scary and chilling stuff:
But the most damning quote comes not from some celebrity scientist, but from the mouth of an AI robot itself,
Check out the scariest things said by AI robots in the video below! From predicting the future to the extinction of the human race, these creepy artificial intelligence bots say some really scary and chilling stuff:
Did AI developers not watch "Terminator"? They are playing with fire!
Do you think AI is a good idea?
Do you think AI is a good idea?