Anthropic safety researcher says more than 10% chance AI 'could kill all humans'

Yes, but at least in the meantime a few men will get to feel rich. And that's what really matters. /s

It's stuff like this which makes me, a lifelong lefty, thoroughly ashamed of what the left has become.

We have to make its electricity.

They don't need to exterminate all life on earth. If they exterminate life forms other than human, I'd guess it'll just be because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when AI exterminates humanity.

So…in Times comment section on recent article you/someone flags (“Godfather of AI) someone has written:

”It’s the old joke, humanity builds a universal computer & asks the ultimate question: “Is there a God?” “There is now!”.

As AI develops I’ve been wondering about the implications re consciousness, evil, karma etc. If consciousness is somehow bigger than us, could AI eventually become part of it — or even be another way consciousness expresses itself? Is it “God” is it why we’re here (?) if am going deep on a Weds afternoon.

In my childhood we had Pong, basic Atari & earlier still, 2001 was science fiction. Last week I saw a robot walking down a suburban street! (Some promo, but still). So is it really completely bonkers to wonder where all this ends? We assume we’re creating AI, but could something stranger eventually be going on — could it even end up effectively ‘at the helm’? So rather than wiping us out, the ‘point’ is we exist until we create our own conscious Sims or something?

Rizwan Virk thinks the odds of us living in a Sim now about 60 per cent.

Same. This is more about the dc for me.

It’s as if the creators and users of AI have never watched a sci-fi film.

It was never going to end well. Not only on a digital level but you can’t go a day on here without someone say ‘I asked chatGPT’ or seeing an obviously AI written post. People can’t think for themselves anymore, and it’s concerning. To quote the kids - we’re cooked!

Again, this presupposes a single water supply.

I am as nihilistic about humanity as they come, but I still don't fancy AIs chances of a total wipeout.

I also tend to think pretty far in the round when it comes to life on earth. AI (or climate change) would have to eliminate not just all life, it would also have to eliminate the conditions for creating life, which are largely chemical composition of the atmosphere and proximity to the sun.

It’s my child I feel achingly sorry for. She won’t get to experience all the wonderful aspects of life there are. It’s so sad

I was ruminating on AI yesterday and the recent news item about it curing cancer.

I used to work in an IT team so have some knowledge of how computers work/'think' and immediately thought that a computers 'idea' of curing cancer would be to kill everyone with cancer. It's the fastest and the most efficient method to 'cure cancer' and computer code is usually written with speed and efficiency in mind.

Anyway, as you were.

We will all die at some point, why not all go together!

It does often feel that we have reached Peak Stupid. And Peak Stupid is exactly when I would expect the end of humanity to happen.

Considering how thirsty AI systems are, an aggressive AI 'overlord' agenda would put that top of list.

I'm not massively concerned, partly because I have a nihilistic view of humanity as a species and I think this is inevitable. I think the AI overlords will need to gain controlf of the water supply, once they do that then we're done.

They may kill of humanity and the rest of life at the same time.

Correction: we have not destroyed the planet itself, but we are destroying (or may already have destroyed) the version of the planet that was human-friendly... Life is robust though. Some form of life will definitely keep on thriving here - but we might go the way of the dinosaurs, yes.
Also edited to add that by doing so, we are unfairly ripping into oblivion alongside ourselves a whole bunch of innocent and fascinating creatures who don't deserve to go extinct. We're basically the roommate from hell.

Thanks for this discussion. I saw this article posted on FB and almost every comment underneath was just a stupid joke or meme, rather than anyone actually expressing real concern. For some reason I found the responses almost as disturbing as the article itself. I feel really sad about the thought that we might only have a few years left, either because of AI or because of climate change. Who knows how things will be at the end of this decade in just 3.5 years. Gutted at how we have trashed everything and everyone's futures with our own greed and stupidity.

@TheNinkyNonkyIsATardis ,

It must be interesting to work in the field.

I did find the details of the Hugging Face attack really interesting. And the way they came out so slowly. Wasn’t it multiple AI agents co-operating by communicating via an obscure chat room, and most of them having been given nothing like that as a brief?!

And solving one of the millennium maths problems shows how far it has evolved from being merely a clever search engine. That is already, in that field, beyond human intelligence.

And it is still evolving very fast.

The thing is we don’t understand what consciousness and free will are really in humans, so I think it is crazy to think AI couldn’t acquire them.

Ooh good. I hope it kills the 10% who don't get their bags out of the bagging area fast enough.

You mistake my meaning, I think.

I'm not talking about the ability of AI to get into systems that are digital, electronic or otherwise part of the Internet of Things.

I'm saying that AI can't magically hack my fridge, my car or my electric drill, any more than it could magically hack a banana or a skateboard, because there are still things that are manifestly outside of its scope.

Let's say weaponry, infrastructure and a chem lab or two are "in scope". That still leaves raw resources (water and food), physical tools and physical distance as key advantages of (some parts of) humanity.

Not me, but it's also not the case that the Alexa in my house could start throwing ninja stars at me, or contaminate the oat milk my son drinks in the cupboard.

But critical systems absolutely can be airgapped from AI. People don't, is the issue.

Its capabilities are also growing exponentially. We’re in the ‘dial up’ internet days too!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horse_manure_crisis_of_1894

I mentioned a risk here & was shouted down. Few see any vulnerability here it seems unless you are feeding ‘it’ your bank details.

With respect, ‘having used AI a fair bit’ is not helpful here. The warnings are not about what you’ve used on Chat GPT or whatever. It’s about next gen which is exponentially different.

The people building these are quitting their high paid jobs and warning us it will kill us.

people need to pay attention rather than post trite stuff like ‘I asked chat gpt and it said it wasn’t trying to kill us haha.’

This is really really serious

It has become more pervasive ... twice this week (I'm looking for a lightweight raincoat), companies that I searched asked for not just my email, but my phone number with a load of teeny, tiny small print including giving permission to "use ai voice to call and message you on voice mail"

WHY?

Not even a person doing "the sell".