Experts suggested considering AI as the same global risk as a pandemic or nuclear war

Representatives of a number of technology corporations and leading universities of the world published a joint statement about the high risk of artificial intelligence for humanity at the global level. The brief statement reads: “Reducing the risk of AI extinction should be as much a global priority as other risks to society as a whole, such as pandemics or nuclear war.”

The statement was signed, among others, by representatives of Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Schlumberger and others, the universities of Harvard, Oxford, Berkeley, Princeton, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and others, as well as several former politicians – the former UN Special Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, former science and technology adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson James Philips, former Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid. The authors of the appeal note that they call for a broad public discussion of all potential risks of AI, as well as for the formation of information about AI accessible to the general public with the help of experts and public figures.

The rise in public interest and concern about AI in recent months has been fueled by advances in recent generative neural network technologies like ChatGPT. According to many experts, such technologies can be dangerous in many areas, from the creation of high-quality fakes and Internet security threats to risks on global labor market.

Evgeniy Khvostik