Another day, another chilling warning about Artificial Intelligence (AI) from an expert in the field.
Mustafa Suleyman, a former Google executive and AI pioneer warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to create a deadly plague.
Speaking on a recent episode of ‘The Diary of a CEO’ podcast, he said that AI could be used to design new viruses or bacteria that are more deadly and resistant to treatment.
These viruses could ‘spread faster or [be] more lethal,’ said Mr Suleyman, ultimately causing ‘more harm’ and potentially even killing people ‘like a pandemic.’
‘We are working with dangerous things,’ he continued. ‘We can’t let just anyone have access to them. We need to limit who can use the AI software, the cloud systems, and even some of the biological materials.’
Mustafa Suleyman is a British artificial intelligence researcher and entrepreneur. He is also the co-founder and former head of applied AI at DeepMind, an AI company acquired by Google.
Mr Suleyman is not the only one who is concerned about the potential dangers of AI. A number of other experts have also warned about the possibility of AI being used to create bioweapons.
In March, researchers warned that artificial intelligence could be repurposed to create new biochemical weapons. They said their experience should serve as a ‘wake-up call’ to those using AI technologies for drug discovery.
Even the companies creating these AI technologies have acknowledged the potential harm posed by it.
In May, the CEOs of OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Stability AI signed a statement calling for the mitigation of ‘the risk of extinction from AI’ to become a global priority.
Dr Geoffrey Hinton, widely regarded as the ‘godfather of artificial intelligence’ who recently resigned from Google while warning of the dangers of the technology, is also among the prominent signatories.
The short statement, posted by the Center for AI Safety, reads: ‘Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.’
It has been signed by more than 300 AI researchers, engineers, academics and technology professionals.
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