The letter signed by Elon Musk and more than a thousand experts demands a half-year break for the development of artificial intelligence. All but the candidates for the parliamentary elections seem to be talking about the wild development of artificial intelligence, writes HS reporter Pekka Mykkänen.
I was a couple of weeks ago swimming and sauna at Allas Sea Pool in Helsinki. I particularly remember a conversation that a group of three young men had from the sauna. They were discussing the conversational artificial intelligence application called GPT-4, published the day before by the American artificial intelligence company Open AI.
The men buzzed with enthusiasm at how quickly and skillfully the new application could write codes into computer programs.
on Twitter had been published for example, a video where GPT-4 conjured up a working web page based on a hand-scrambled note. Another twitterer raved about how the program had coded a simple table tennis-like Pong game in 60 seconds.
Do you remember the good old days when software coders were tough guys? Now they have a tough and job-threatening competitor that is developing at an unimaginable pace.
Oh what kind of pace? The more basic Chat GPT-3.5, released last November, was made to participate in the bar preparation test used in the United States. The then application remained According to the Open AI company still among the worst ten percent when its skills were compared to human experimenters.
The GPT-4 version, published in March, “taught” and therefore four months older than its predecessor, already reached the top ten percent.
Where will the next application reach?
Development is so loud and fast that it needs to be stopped for a while, if nothing else, then by government regulations.
Such a startling demand was presented in the article published on Wednesday in an open letterwhose signatories included more than a thousand experts: for example, the CEO of Tesla and the owner of Twitter, known for his passion for technology Elon Muskan Israeli writer who analyzes the history of mankind in his popular books Yuval Noah Harari and co-founder of the Apple company Stephen Wozniak.
The letter states that advanced artificial intelligence is changing life on Earth in a fundamental way, and now it is necessary to take half a year’s time and stop the improvement of artificial intelligence to the level of the GPT-4 application. It’s time to think about what we as humanity really want.
“We have to ask ourselves: should we give machines the power to block our information channels with propaganda and lies? Do we have to automate away all our jobs, even the meaningful ones? Must we develop non-human minds that will eventually outnumber us and outsmart us and render us useless and replace us?”
The letter says that artificial intelligence offers great opportunities, but now it is being developed in an “uncontrollable race”. In laboratories all over the world, “more and more efficient digital minds are created, the operation of which no one – not even their developers – understands, can predict or reliably control”.
The chairmen of the largest parties Riikka Purra (ps), Sanna Marin (sd) and Petteri Orpo (kok) at MTV’s election rehearsal on Wednesday.
Last for weeks it has seemed like everyone is talking about GPT.
Or everyone except MPs, party leaders and candidates for parliamentary elections, as well as journalists who report on their actions and share their thoughts.
Since I have followed only part of the election debates, I asked my Facebook friends and more precisely the grand old man of political journalism Unto Hämäläinenthat Do they remember discussions related to artificial intelligence in election exams or does a candidate prominently feature artificial intelligence in their campaigns.
“No, no, I haven’t noticed that any of the party leaders have talked about artificial intelligence in the election debates. I haven’t really noticed that they were asked about it either,” said Hämäläinen.
He also didn’t remember questions related to artificial intelligence about voting machines. At least there isn’t one of HS and Mightily in voting machines.
Artificial intelligence does not emerge as a major theme in the election programs either, based on a quick glance at the programs of the three largest parties. The prime minister’s party SDP in the election program artificial intelligence is mentioned once in a section where it is promised to make Finland a “leader of the data economy and technology”.
The coalition in the election program no artificial intelligence word appears, but the party in the information and technology policy program artificial intelligence is mentioned three times, as a positive possibility. Basic Finns in different programs the word artificial intelligence is not used once, although there are other references to new or high technology.
It’s probably safe to say that these elections will not be remembered for any major artificial intelligence debate at least. Not even though the issue is being talked about in checkout lines and on the ledges of saunas, not even though artificial intelligence threatens to take away many people’s jobs, not even though artificial intelligence is developing in unpredictable directions and largely in the dark. The development may require legislative measures in Finland and the European Union, where MPs and ministers exercise power.
The DALL-E 2 artificial intelligence application sifts through “paintings” in seconds on any subject and according to the requested style. These images were created with the request in English: “Please make a surrealist painting about this theme: Pause Giant AI Experiments.”
Multi a fan of artificial intelligence is of the opinion that the development of artificial intelligence and information technology should not be hysterical. They greatly benefit people and also bring pure joy. In connection with this article, there are a couple of collage illustrations of a total of twelve “paintings” by the Open AI company Dall-E 2 application would do in about half a minute.
In the order, I told the application that I wanted surrealist works, the theme of which is Pause Giant AI Experiments, which was the title of an emergency appeal issued on Wednesday.
New technologies have always caused concern in people. A couple of hundred years ago, English Luddites attacked factories and destroyed textile machines that took away jobs. In the late 1990s, many bank clerks were shocked by the automation of cashier services. In the 2000s, there was a fear that social media would ruin not only adults, but also young people, and in the 2010s, people were afraid whether algorithms would destroy democracy.
The latter concerns are still topical and the development of artificial intelligence will increase them even more.
Elon Musk on his way to a gala in New York last May.
Is maybe it’s good to note that some of the people who have been calling for AI to be put on hold make their living from cutting edge technology. Every time the name Elon Musk pops up somewhere, it’s worth thinking about where the shoe is really pinching this time.
Musk was once involved in the Open AI project, the pace of development of which he would now like to slow down. His Tesla company is developing cars in which artificial intelligence aims to eventually make human drivers unnecessary. Early this week was reported, that a company owned by Musk, the Neuralink company, is interested in starting human trials with brain implants. The company wants to install data processing devices in people’s brains, through which artificial intelligence and human intelligence could shake hands.
But there is no reason to doubt that there is genuine and deep concern about artificial intelligence in the minds of the hundreds of knowledgeable signatories. The letter’s doomsday tone may be a deliberate attempt to get people to think about it. After all, the climate crisis was only woken up after years of screeching statements.
In Western countries, however, it is also necessary to consider whether it makes sense to limit the development of artificial intelligence too much or at all, when there is no point in waiting for China and Russia to join in the talks. In China, the appeal of Musk and his partners will probably make you laugh so hard your stomach hurts.
Its enough alarming information is available that when it comes to artificial intelligence you can’t stick your head in the sand and you can’t leave its development to shady alleys. And so it would be nice to hear what those who aspire to the Finnish parliament and government power think about it.
It is in the spirit of the times to also inquire about the matter from the artificial intelligence itself. A colleague of mine has the speech-understanding and speech-digesting Chat GPT in his smartwatch, and he asked for this article whether artificial intelligence should be feared.
A voice could be heard from the clock: “There is no need to be afraid of artificial intelligence, but its possibilities and risks must be approached responsibly. The appropriate and ethical development, regulation and use of AI will help ensure that it works for the benefit of humanity and to improve safety. It is important to discuss and reflect on the effects of artificial intelligence on society and on different fields in order to develop the best practices for utilizing it.”
“It’s important to discuss and reflect,” said the smart watch’s artificial intelligence. What do the aspirants to the parliament say?
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