One of the so-called “godfathers” of artificial intelligence (AI) has claimed he would have chosen safety over utility if he had known how quickly it would advance.
Professor Yoshua Bengio admitted to reporters that he felt “lost” about the work he had done all his life.
The computer scientist made his remarks after experts in AI warned that it might wipe out humanity.
Professor Bengio, who has backed calls for AI regulation, stated that he opposed giving military organizations access to AI technology.
He is the second of the three “godfathers” of AI, who are renowned for their groundbreaking work in the field, to express concerns about the direction and rate of its development.
In an interview, Professor Bengio stated that he was no longer clear on his life’s work, which had previously provided him with direction and a sense of identity.
“It is challenging, emotionally speaking, for people who are inside [the AI sector],” he said.
“You could say I feel lost. But you have to keep going and you have to engage, discuss, and encourage others to think with you.”
The Canadian recently endorsed two statements that urged caution regarding potential AI risks.
The rate of development, according to some academics and industry experts, could lead to malicious AI being used by bad actors to actively cause harm or choosing to cause harm on its own.
Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, fellow “godfather,” recently announced his retirement from Google and added his signature to the same cautionary statements as Prof. Bengio.
Apocalyptic warnings are exaggerated, according to the third “godfather,” Prof. Yann LeCun, who along with Prof. Bengio and Dr. Hinton received the prestigious Turing Award for their groundbreaking work.
However, not everyone in the field holds the view that AI would bring about humanity’s demise; some contend that there are more pressing issues that require attention.
The propagation of false information by chat bots, AI bias, and predictive policing, according to Dr. Sasha Luccioni, a research scientist with the AI company Huggingface, are all examples of “very concrete harms” that society should pay attention to.
“We should focus on that rather than the hypothetical risk that AI will destroy humanity,” she added.
There are already several instances of AI helping society. A paralyzed guy was able to regain his ability to walk by simply thinking about it, last week, thanks to an AI-powered technology that discovered a new medication.
Source-BBC
