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There is little doubt that AI systems, such as ChatGPT and other large language models, are not conscious. AI systems are probabilistic constructs trained on a vast portion of the internet. Given some text, they attempt to predict the most likely next word.
ChatGPT has revolutionized our professional lives! AI enhances efficiency by automating complex tasks, reducing human error, and saving time. It also enables advanced data analysis and decision-making, leading to innovative solutions and improved outcomes in various fields. However, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years has caused significant concern among technology leaders. Icons such as Elon Musk, Geoffrey Hinton (the father of AI), and Stephen Hawking have all expressed apprehensions about the potential dangers of AI. Musk has described AI as “the most significant existential threat to humanity” and called for strict regulatory oversight. Hinton left his position at Google to voice his concerns about AI safety, emphasizing the need for precautionary measures before uncontrolled AI development takes place. Hawking warned that if AI surpasses our ability to control it, it could lead to the end of the human race.
In our recent blogs, What Can AI Tell Us About the Worldview on Frontier Science? and, Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Human Consciousness, IONS used AI chatbot ChatGPT to explore artificial intelligence and its interaction with and impact on human consciousness. This month we ask about the capacity for AI to become conscious itself and how that relates to the concept of interconnectedness, which is so fundamental to IONS work. We asked the following questions:
Last month we published a blog on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the interaction between and impact on human consciousness. We asked multiple AI Chatbots for their feedback on IONS Guiding Hypothesis:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an extremely hot topic right now, and for good reason! Some say it could have the same kind of profound impact on human life as fire or electricity. As more and more advanced AI technologies develop, it’s important to ask how these developments might impact human consciousness and vice versa – how might our consciousness impact how artificial intelligence develops, especially if we consider IONS guiding hypothesis that everything is interconnected?
Safety in artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic these days. How can we ensure that an AI system would not harm humans? Let’s imagine an autonomous AI robot which is programmed to help humans by doing housework. Now let’s imagine that while the robot is cleaning the house, guests arrive with children who are curious about the robot. The primary utility function of the robot is to clean the house, not engage socially with people, so the AI robot might push or even harm the children in order to fulfill its task. A simple solution is to have a “kill-switch” on the AI robot body, which, if activated, would cause the AI system to turn itself off in situations where it may cause harm. However, pressing the kill-switch would also prevent the robot from completing its primary function, housework, so it might attempt to prevent or even fight any person trying to activate the kill-switch. This is obviously not an ideal solution.
There is a lot of hype in the media about artificial intelligence with new so-called deep learning AI able to beat people at the Go and Chess Master games, and play video games, including some complex social games such as Warcraft and Dota 2. Some would think that the era of true sentient artificial intelligence is upon us – an intelligence that rivals the intelligence of humans – and this could be a threat or a blessing.
A lot of people are worried that their jobs will be taken over by artificial intelligence (AI). According to a 2018 Harvard Business Review article, while the concern is widespread, this outcome is not so likely – instead, AI will probably be integrated into organizations to assist humans in their work.
There have been a large number of articles published about Artificial Intelligence lately, most with varying topics of focus. Some discuss how AI applications will eventually replace numerous human jobs, potentially disrupting global economies and bringing about a transition toward a more utopian society. Some discuss the advances in medicine and healthcare which will likely occur, thereby increasing human lifespans and quality of life dramatically (which are actually already occurring). Yet other articles discuss the potential dystopia for General AI to run amok through an accident of logic that leads our machines to protect all of humanity from harm and death… by first killing all of humanity to ensure no additional harm can come to anyone. There… problem solved. And frankly, any and all of these potentials are awaiting to be realized (or not) as we develop AI capabilities and move into tomorrow’s now.
