Technology minister warns against AI ‘Terminator’ warnings

Technology Minister Paul Sculley has warned that the so-called “Terminator-type” risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) to humanity should not be emphasized at the expense of the benefits they bring.

In the sci-fi movie “Terminator” series, a malicious AI “Skynet” system that plots the destruction of mankind is envisioned.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is scheduled to visit the United States soon, and AI is one of the topics discussed there.

AI describes the ability of computers to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence.

When it comes to AI, “There are dystopian perspectives that we can follow here. There are also utopian perspectives. Both are possible,” Scully said at the TechUK Tech Policy Leadership Conference in Westminster. Told.

A dystopia is an imaginary place where everything is as bad as possible.

“If you’re only talking about the extinction of the human race in some rogue Terminator-esque scenario, then you’re talking about the benefits AI already has at work, like how to map proteins for medical use. You’ll miss it all: research, how it can help with climate change.

“All these things have already been done and will be improved in the future.”

The government recently released a policy document on the regulation of AI that was criticized for not establishing a dedicated oversight body, suggesting that additional measures may ultimately be needed to deal with the most powerful future systems. Some people think they can’t.

But he argued that “narrow AI” designed for specific tasks, such as a system that looks for cancer in medical images, should be regulated to the same standard as existing technology.

In response to reports about the potential dangers posed by AI, the prime minister’s spokesman said, “We are not satisfied with the potential risks of AI, but AI is also a great opportunity.”

“AI adoption cannot proceed without guardrails.”

Labor’s shadow culture minister, Lucy Powell, told the BBC: “There is a certain level of hysteria going on, which is certainly dominating the public debate at this point, but the development of technologies like AI has a lot to do with it.” has a real chance,” he said.

But he added, “But we need to think really carefully about the risks and make sure we have the right regulations in place.”

It’s also important that everyone benefits from the impact of AI, and “it’s not just going to affect big US tech companies, as happened with the last tech revolution.”

Powell previously told The Guardian that he feels AI should be licensed in the same way as pharmaceuticals and nuclear power (both of which have dedicated regulators).

AI company OpenAI recently blogged that hyperintelligent AI could require a global regulator like the International Atomic Energy Agency.

At the same event, Microsoft president Brad Smith said the most powerful AI operations could require a safety license.

“To deploy a model, it must pass some kind of security review.”

Smith argued that international cooperation and a single regulatory model would be better. He said the UK and US are well positioned to work together when it comes to cyber and national security.

He told reporters at the event that Microsoft would not participate in the “horror parade,” adding that it would be better to reduce some of the rhetoric and focus more on current issues.

Many other experts also say that the focus on science fiction-like disaster scenarios distracts from current problems with AI, such as the risk of racial and gender bias in algorithms.