The fear of AI has exceeded its limits to the degree that its own creator, Geoffrey Hinton, the Godfather of AI, is fearful that AI could swipe out humanity as it is, while “tech bros CEOs are in desperate need to showoff their latest superintelligence superpower, with Meta promoting its AI system as self-improvement without human aid.
The Nobel Prize winning computer scientist and former Google executive has previously estimated a 10% to 20% chance that AI could wipe out humans. Speaking at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Hinton questioned current efforts by tech companies to keep AI “submissive” to human control.
Yet, at the same time, Meta’s Zuckerberg is working on their artificial superintelligence (ASI), that can overcome human cognitive abilities. Zuckerberg, brags – but it’s more like claims – his thinking AI is not a threat and that his AI superintelligence superpower could transform humanity as we know it through scientific breakthroughs and empowering users in several ways.
One might have the audacity to compare this to a mother fear over her own child, yet others are fighting to help raise him/her and make the child a better version of him/herself.
Is Artificial Superintelligence a Futuristic Approach to Immortality?
Many experts anticipate safe superintelligence AI could reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) in the near future. Hinton, on the other hand, is more on the skeptic side. He who once believed AGI was decades away, now predicts it could arrive within five to 20 years.
Now that’s a harsh reality that we cannot brush off. But despite his fears, Hinton is quite optimistic about AI’s potential benefits, particularly in healthcare.
“We’re going to see radical new drugs. We are going to get much better cancer treatment than the present,” he said, noting AI’s ability to analyze vast medical datasets.
However, he dismissed the idea that AI could make humans immortal.
“I don’t believe we’ll live forever. I think living forever would be a big mistake. Do you want the world run by 200-year-old white men?,” the AI godfather inquired.
Looking back on his career, Hinton said he wishes he had considered safety issues alongside building AI. “I wish I’d thought about safety issues, too,” he highlighted.
Tech CEOs Say AI Is Not Dangerous
Nowadays, if you’re one to read daily news – or just skim through the news once a month – you probably know about the Tech Bros’ marketing of how AI will take humanity to a whole new level.
And yes, it’s humanity as a whole, not just humans. And Meta’s CEO is one of the biggest advocates of how “AI is the key technology of our time, and it’s going to unlock so much human potential,” Big Zuck said way back in January, 2016, during his announcement about Facebook’s AI research efforts.
That vision was literally almost ten years ago. And till this day, Zuck the tech CEO saying don’t fear superintelligence superpower AI has a belief which hasn’t changed. If anything, the belief has branched out into AI’s role in society.
Now, Zuckerberg predicts ASI’s future will bring be even beneficial for personal use, envisioning the world will have their own “personal superintelligence.”
In Zuckerberg’s AI-focused mind, personal ASI will be as an assistant with featured ranging from building better relationships, achieving personal goals, and creating new art and experiences.
Zuckerberg here is not simply disregarding ASI’s threats, but he’s actually championing an optimistic AI vision. Boldly, might we add, dismissing Hinton’s doomsday scenario in favor of making Meta the leading company in AI.
And it’s not just Zuck, this is a sentiment – and AI race – shared by literally ALL Big Tech Bros. The AI development divide reveals deeper questions about humanity’s control over its creations.
While godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton warns of existential threats and argues for AI with moral “maternal instincts,” Zuckerberg advocate it as a transformative world changing force, imagining a future supplemented with individual superintelligence superpower, further highlighting a balanced innovation need curbed by prudence.
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