Yuval Noah Harari paints a grim picture of the AI ​​age, the roots of regulation and safety checks

Since time immemorial, new technologies and innovations have met with fear and awe before being embraced by humanity. Most new inventions face shock and dread, and many either welcome them or downright condemn them.The ongoing wave of AI is no exception. Many people praise it, but there are also criticisms.

Yuval Noah Harari, known for his critically acclaimed non-fiction book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humanity, says in a new article in The Economist that artificial intelligence has “hacked” human civilization’s operating system. increase. The prominent Israeli intellectual is known for his recent comments on AI opportunities and threats.

source of fear

In his latest article, he claims that fear of AI has plagued mankind since the dawn of the computer age. However, he said that new AI tools that have appeared in recent years could threaten the survival of human civilization from “unexpected directions”.

He showed how AI can influence culture by talking about language, which is integral to human culture. “Languages ​​are what make up almost all human culture. Human rights, for example, are not inscribed in our DNA. “Gods are not physical realities. Rather, they are cultural relics that we have created by inventing myths and writing scriptures,” Harari writes.

The authors say that the rise of AI is having a huge impact on society, affecting many aspects of economy, politics, culture, and psychology. The 47-year-old writes that the biggest challenge in the AI ​​age is enabling human-machine collaboration, not creating intelligent his tools.

Harari referred to the cult QAnon to highlight how AI-driven misinformation can change the course of events. This is a political movement associated with the Far Right in the United States. QAnon spread misinformation via “Q-drops,” which are sacred to their followers.

AI and the Power of Intimacy

Harari also revealed how AI can build rapport with people and influence their decision-making. “AI’s mastery of language allows it to form rapport with people and even use the power of intimacy to change our opinions and worldviews,” he writes. To demonstrate this, he gave the example of his Google engineer Blake Lemoine, who lost his job after publicly claiming that his AI chatbot LaMDA had become sentient. According to historians, the controversial claims cost Lemoyne’s work. He asked if AI could influence people to put their jobs at risk. What else can you do?

Harari also said that intimacy is an effective weapon in the political battle of mind and heart.In recent years, social media has become a battlefield for controlling human attention, and a new generation of AI can persuade people to vote for a particular politician or buy a particular product, he said.

The author draws parallels between modern AI and the 17th-century philosopher René Descartes’ conception of an illusionary world, and the Mayan ideas of Buddhist and Hindu sages. Harari stressed the need for regulation, citing the example of nuclear energy, which can produce cheap electricity but also has the potential to destroy human civilization. But over the years we have reshaped the international order to ensure that nuclear technology is used for collective benefit.

To draw attention to the need to regulate AI technology, Harari said the first regulation should require disclosure that AI is AI.

The author has shared his thoughts on the rapid development of AI many times. In March, Harari wrote an op-ed for her New York Times discussing the rapid progress and impact of chatbots like GPT and the future of human interaction. He argued that while GPT-3 has made impressive progress, it is far from replacing human interaction. He also suggested that AI could lead to greater inequality, as billionaire Bill Gates alluded to in a blog post.