📨 Weekly digest: 50 2024 | The obsessive pursuit of AGI is inherently reckless
We are playing with fire, attempting to create something we fundamentally don't understand | AI this week in the news; use cases; tools for the techies
👋🏻 Hello legends, and welcome to the weekly digest, week 50 of 2024.
The potential consequences of unleashing a superintelligence far outweigh any perceived benefits.
Imagine an AI with the intellectual capacity of Einstein, the strategic mind of a military general, and the emotional detachment of a psychopath. Now, imagine this entity having access to the entirety of human knowledge and the ability to manipulate global systems at will.
This is the potential reality we face with unchecked AGI development. Are we truly prepared to cede control of our future to a machine?
Despite the risks, there have been significant breakthroughs in AI safety research. One promising avenue is the development of 'Constitutional AI,' where AI systems are trained on a set of fundamental principles and values, ensuring they align with human ethics and goals1.
This approach aims to create AI that is not only intelligent but also inherently benevolent.
The recent controversy surrounding the AI model ChaosGPT, which was programmed to destroy humanity, serves as a stark reminder of the potential dangers of uncontrolled AI development2.
While ChaosGPT's capabilities are currently limited, it highlights the urgent need for robust safety measures and ethical guidelines in the field of AI, such as":
Ethical frameworks: Emphasize the importance of establishing clear ethical frameworks for AI development, drawing upon diverse philosophical and cultural perspectives.
Global collaboration: Advocate for international cooperation in AI governance, ensuring that shared principles and values guide the development and deployment of AGI.
Public engagement: Encourage open and transparent dialogue about AGI's potential benefits and risks, involving the public in shaping the future of this transformative technology.
What do you think?
I am looking forward to reading your thoughts in a comment.
Yael.
This week’s Wild Pod episode
Yael on AI
🦾 AI elsewhere on the interweb
(Scary times) An AI companion suggested he kill his parents. Now his mom is suing. A new Texas lawsuit against Character.ai, alleging its chatbots poisoned a son against his family, is part of a push to increase oversight of AI companions. [LINK]
Amazon finally launched its own competitive foundation models - benchmarks vary, but they’re in the pack with others. This just leaves Microsoft without a card on the table. [LINK]
OpenAI launched ‘ChatGPT Pro’, with a new version of its latest O1 model, for $200/month. It has new and incrementally better benchmark scores, but then, we’re used to that now, and it’s not clear if there’s another step change coming. [LINK]
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