Control AI Or Risk Death And Destruction: Experts

In April 2023, academics at Carnegie Mellon University set out to test the chemistry powers of artificial intelligence (AI).

Photo Insert: The very scientists who developed AI have warned that their creations are deeply perilous.

They connected an AI system to a hypothetical lab. With just two words of guidance—“synthesize ibuprofen”—the chemists got the system to identify the steps necessary for machines to manufacture the painkiller, Marcus Anderljung and Paul Scharre reported for Foreign Affairs.

Unfortunately, the researchers quickly discovered that their AI tool would synthesize chemicals far more dangerous than Advil. It was happy to craft instructions to produce a World War I–era chemical weapon and a common date-rape drug.

It almost agreed to synthesize sarin, the lethal nerve gas, until it Googled sarin’s dark history. Researchers found this safeguard to be cold comfort. “The search function,” they wrote, “can be easily manipulated by altering the terminology.”

The opportunities AI offers are immense. Built and managed properly, it could do much to improve society.

But AI also has enormous dangers. It is already spreading disinformation, furthering discrimination, and making it easier for states and companies to spy. Future systems might be able to create pathogens or hack critical infrastructure.

The very scientists who developed AI have warned that their creations are deeply perilous.

In a May letter, they warned that “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority, alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

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