You might be aware of the https://www.teamhuman.org/ petition. According to their web page, the demand is simple: Slow Down AI . I believe this is a very noble cause, and this is why I signed it (and kindly suggest everyone who reads this post to have a quick look at their web page at the very least). However, I disagree on one key aspect: I do not believe that AI should slow down.
Ok, so do I believe that we should stop AI development completely?#
Actually, quite the contrary. I strongly believe that AI development should accelerate even more. But this should be done responsibly. Recent events have shown me that this is not the case right now.
I suspect the people behind the campaign were inspired by the classic tale of the hare and the tortoise by Aesop (in case you are not familiar with the tale, here is a link: https://read.gov/aesop/025.html) where the moral is “slow and steady wins the race.” But I do not think that this moral is good for AI research. It should apply to how the AI researchers are doing their job: slow and steady. This is how they will win the race for better AI. In the end, the hare did not lose the race because it was slower than the tortoise. The hare lost because it did not have a steady pace. Although I am not an oracle, I believe that if something major happens in the near future, then the pace of AI research will slow down to a halt. This will not benefit anyone. Putting some proper safety measures in place right now will help us avoid this catastrophe later.
So yes, I think we need to take a step back and make sure that AI research is safe before continuing. Otherwise, we risk becoming the protagonists of an AI doomsday movie. I would even go one step further and suggest one global AI organization that will guide all the AI research for the benefit of all humanity and the world (well, they say you need to dream big).
One last comment:#
I was thinking of using AI to help me with the writing, as my writing skills are mediocre at best. But it just felt wrong to use AI to help me with the writing for this specific article. I will have plenty of time to use it for other things.
