Existential risk from artificial general intelligence

Protestors advocating for nuclear disarmament.Photo: John MACDOUGALL / AFP (Getty Images)The United States military is one of many organizations embracing AI in our modern age, but it may want to pump the brakes a bit. A new study using AI in foreign policy decision-making found how quickly the tech would call for war instead of finding peaceful resolutions. Some AI in the study even launched nuclear warfare with little to no warning, giving strange explanations for doing so.Why is Everyone Suing AI Companies? | Future…

Welcome to AI This Week, Gizmodo’s weekly deep dive on what’s been happening in artificial intelligence.What Could the Future of Medical AI Look Like?Last year, after Buzzfeed laid off its entire newsroom and made a pronounced pivot to AI-generated content, I made the argument that journalists should treat the technology as an existential threat. It seemed clear that companies like OpenAI were creating content-generating algorithms that could be used to compete with traditional (read: human) reporters. I added the…

Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing (Getty Images)As 2024 begins, there has been plenty of speculation about what lies ahead for artificial intelligence. AI was the hottest industry in the world last year and it will likely continue to be so throughout 2024—and maybe the rest of your godforsaken life. That said, many of the concerns about this startling new technology have not been resolved or mitigated. While AI promises bold new capabilities for companies and web users, there are tons of potential harms that it could inflict…

Photo: josefkubes (Shutterstock)A survey of the leading AI scientists says there’s a 5% chance that AI will become uncontrollable and wipe out humanity. In the short term, researchers estimate AI will become significantly more advanced, able to create a Top 40 pop song and write an NYT bestseller before 2030. So at least our AI overlords will entertain us before they kill us.Like It or Not, Your Doctor Will Use AI | AI Unlocked“While AI experts’ predictions should not be seen as a reliable guide to objective truth, they…

In the last year, computers started acting strangely human. As OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever put it, you can think of AI as a “digital brain”, one that’s directly modeled after that of a human. Just like a young child, AI has incentives and learns from those around it. If ChatGPT was a young child, it would be growing inside a $90 billion company, OpenAI, and learning to maximize profit above all else.Why is Everyone Suing AI Companies? | Future TechIf a profit-seeking AI was tasked with treating cancer patients, would it solve…

By all accounts, the European Union’s AI Act seems like something that would make tech ethicists happy. The landmark artificial intelligence law, which enjoyed a huge legislative win this week, seeks to institute a broad regulatory framework that would tackle the harms posed by the new technology. In its current form, the law would go to some lengths to make AI more transparent, inclusive, and consumer-friendly in the countries where it’s in effect. What’s not to like, right?Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With……

An open letter to the White House from 17 major climate change and anti-disinformation groups says President Joe Biden and his administration have largely ignored the toll AI is already taking on a fast-warming world. At the top of these groups’ demands is a new rule executive order that would big tech to share just how energy-hungry the big push for AI truly is.Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | AI UnlockedThe climate group’s letter centers on two main points. One, AI is already working to amplify the…

In the aftermath of last week’s shocking OpenAI power struggle, there was one final revelation that acted as a kind of epilogue to the sprawling mess: a report from Reuters that revealed a supposedly startling breakthrough at the startup. That breakthrough allegedly happened via a little known program dubbed “Q-Star” or “Q*.” “Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police” | AI UnlockedAccording to the report, one of the things that may have kicked off the internecine conflict at the influential AI company was this Q-related…

There’s been a lot of talk about AGI lately—artificial general intelligence—the much-coveted AI development goal. AGI refers to that still hypothetical point in the future when AI algorithms will be able to do most of the jobs that humans currently do. According to this narrative, the emergence of AGI will bring about fundamental changes in society, potentially ushering in a “post-work” world, wherein humans can sit around enjoying themselves while robots do all the heavy lifting. If you believe the headlines, OpenAI’s…

Seven of the world’s leading tech firms working on artificial intelligence are meeting with the Biden Administration today where they will agree to a set of new commitments intended to manage potential risks posed by AI.Why is Everyone Suing AI Companies? | Future TechThe new voluntary agreements include commitments to external, third-party testing prior to releasing an AI product and the development of watermarking systems to inform the public when a piece of audio or video material was generated using AI systems. The…