"Prevent Human Extinction Due to AI"... US AI Experts Warn

AI Safety Center: "As Dangerous to Humanity as Pandemics and Nuclear War"

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses a risk of causing the extinction of humanity."

Amid growing interest in the advancement of AI technologies, including generative AI, hundreds of AI scientists in the United States have issued a statement expressing their warnings. This comes two months after more than 1,000 figures, including Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, released a statement calling for a six-month pause on AI development, highlighting the increasing calls for controllable AI development.

The Center for AI Safety in the U.S. released a one-line statement consisting of 22 words on the 30th (local time), stating, "Mitigating the risk of human extinction from AI should be a priority, just like eliminating social risks such as infectious disease pandemics and nuclear war." The statement emphasizes the need to start discussions on the serious risks AI may bring.

More than 350 executives, researchers, and developers working in the AI field signed this statement. Among the signatories were Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and the father of the AI sensation ‘ChatGPT’; Kevin Scott, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Microsoft (MS); Google AI executives Lila Ibrahim and Marion Rogers; and Angela Kane, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

This statement emerged amid growing concerns about side effects such as the spread of misinformation and social biases, as well as job losses due to AI advancements. Since AI learns from massive amounts of data and mimics human responses and reactions, the statement supports the view that misuse or abuse of AI could cause serious harm.

In particular, concerns are rising that the AI industry could grow uncontrollably as investments in AI have surged since the launch of ChatGPT. Nvidia, which holds about a 90% market share in the AI semiconductor market, has seen its stock price soar amid the AI boom, briefly surpassing a market capitalization of $1 trillion during trading on the day.

Currently, AI experts and governments around the world are engaged in discussions to regulate AI. Earlier, CEO Altman testified before the U.S. Congress, stating, "If this technology goes wrong, it can go very wrong. I want to work with the government to prevent that." The U.S. administration is exploring regulatory measures, citing AI as a potential threat to public safety, personal privacy, and democracy, while the European Union (EU) is also pushing for the introduction of the ‘European Artificial Intelligence Act.’

However, The New York Times (NYT) analyzed, "Some people believe that if the pace of AI development is not slowed down, AI could become powerful enough to cause significant social disruption within a few years," adding, "This fear places many industry leaders in the unusual position of arguing that the technologies they are developing carry serious risks and must be strictly regulated."