It is no secret that technology advances rapidly over time. Every day, new tools with a wide range of uses are created, making countless human chores easier. One of the tools that has recently seen prodigious development is artificial intelligence, commonly nicknamed AI.
AI is already having a positive impact on our contemporary world. It could reshape the traditional teaching we have long been familiar with. It can be of great help in medicine, as a handy tool for lung cancer prediction or for diagnosing neurodevelopmental disorder in infants. With further developments, it might be able to predict devastating earthquakes sometime in the future. Lastly, it can be your personal DJ if you’re a Spotify user.
So far, AI has made marvelous progress and there is no doubt it will continue to do so. Yet, besides all the advantages, there will also unavoidably be more grievous drawbacks than we can envisage. The earlier we start to think about what those might be, the better prepared we will be to lessen and control the risks.
The disheartening revelation
A few days ago, Twitter user Yohie Nakajima carried out an experiment dubbed AI founder which “blew his mind.” In his experiment, he had AI to develop and reprioritize its own task list while executing them at the same time.
As the test went on, Yohi, as well as other participants in the thread, were more and more dazed and bewildered by the capacities his AI founder exhibited. The final conclusion was that the whole case was “kinda scary.”
A day afterward, Siqi Chen, a developer and tech entrepreneur shared that ChatGPT 5, which is to be released by the end of 2023, will attain Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). According to Chen, this may cause a commotion in the AI realm, as such progress, providing his claim is accurate, might have sweeping effects.
What could this possibly imply? According to Chen, it could mean that, following the upcoming upgrade, it might be impossible to distinguish generative artificial intelligence from humans. Yet, he did highlight that this was not the official assumption coming from OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, but of non-zero people.
Although this experiment is presently only connected to search, Chen is of the opinion that, with the power of chatbot plugins and ChatGPT-5, “we are so much closer” to achieving AGI than people believe.
What is AGI
AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence refers to the capacity of AI to understand and learn tasks or concepts that humans can comprehend. It’s different from artificial intelligence in terms of AI being associated with machines that are able to perform specific tasks. With this in mind, it could be said that AGI is a more advanced form of AI not limited to specific tasks and functions.
On the positive side, AGI may increase productivity by advancing AI-powered processes and freeing people from monotonous and repetitive work. However, with too much power and authority, AI may possibly exert unanticipated and negative effects. As a result, this may lead to a series of extreme consequences threatening the world we know.
Success in creating effective AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped by AI or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it.
Steven Hawking, a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
Repercussions of artificial intelligence
Bernard Marr, an author and prominent speaker, agrees that AI is beneficial for the modern world. Still, despite all the good coming from AI, there are repercussions we can’t turn a blind eye on. For Marr, those reverberations are drastic. So, what are they?
Potential loss of certain jobs
Artificial Intelligence will call for the creation of new jobs, and many people expect an increase in employment. However, due to the emergence of new positions, some traditional ones might be taken over by AI technology and machines.
As a result, training and educational programs will need to change in order for more effective preparation of our future workforce. In addition, it will be necessary to assist present employees in transferring to new jobs.
A change in human experience
Providing AI takes over menial jobs and lets humans substantially reduce the amount of time they must spend at a job, the additional freedom might initially seem like a utopia. Still, humans will need to implement their new freedom to take up new activities that offer the same social and mental advantages as their jobs. This is necessary in order for people to feel that their lives have meaning.
Some people and communities, however, might find this less complicated than others. When machines take over jobs people used to be paid to do, there might be economic factors to consider. On the profit-loss statements of companies, the economic advantages of greater efficiencies are fairly obvious. Yet, the overall benefits to society and the human condition are a little less clear.
AI bias
Since AI algorithms are created by humans, they may either deliberately or unintentionally introduce bias into the algorithm. AI algorithms will generate biased results if they were developed with a bias or if the data used as training sets for the algorithms was biased.
This reality may have unintended effects, similar to those brought on by discriminatory hiring practices and Microsoft’s racist chatbot. Companies must properly develop and train AI algorithms as they are created.
Global regulations
Technology has undoubtedly made the world smaller than it has ever been. This also implies that new laws and rules governing AI technology will need to be agreed upon among various governments. Such actions are needed to permit secure and productive cross-border interactions.
Since we are no longer in a vacuum, it is very easy for one country’s artificial intelligence policies to have a negative impact on others. We can already see how this will play out. After China banned ChatGPT and other chatbot alternatives, Italy was the next to do so.
The main reason behind such decision of Italian government is the absence no valid legal basis for the system’s collection of users’ confidential information. This data is collected to help the algorithm that controls ChatGPT’s responses be trained.
Increased hacking
Artificial intelligence accelerates progress and, in many instances, surpasses our capacity for comprehension as humans. Automation makes it more difficult for humans to detect evil deeds like hacking, phishing attacks, and delivery of malwares and viruses into software, as well as and the use of AI systems for personal gain.
Request to halt
Compelled by the rapid and behemothic success of AI, Elon Musk, Twitter and Tesla father and one of the original OpenAI founders, signed an open letter to immediately halt all AI more powerful than ChatGPT. Thousands of influential people such as Steve Wozniak, a tech entrepreneur, and Emad Mostaque, CEO of Stability AI, joined Musk in the demand to immediately suspend the development of AI systems.
We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least six months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. This pause should be public and verifiable and include all key actors. If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.
Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter
According to the letter, numerous studies have demonstrated that AI systems equipped with competitive human intelligence approved by top AI institutes may pose serious risks to society.
Since it was posted on Future of Life (FLI), the letter has garnered 1125 signatures. FLI is a nonprofit organization fighting to reduce existential and global catastrophic risks confronting humanity, especially existential risks from advanced AI.
The main concern about the AI advancement is the capabilities of AI systems that are expanding quickly. As a result, there is more data and more computing power. Large models are starting to outperform humans in areas. As the letter argues, a single company cannot foresee what ultimate implications this will have for our communities.
Owing to AI, humanity might expect a prosperous future. Following the development of successful AI systems, the human population may now be in the midst of an “AI summer.” According to the letter, this summer allows humans to enjoy the results, and design these systems with everyone’s best interests in mind, while simultaneously giving people time to adjust.
Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society. We can do so here. Let's enjoy a long AI summer, not rush unprepared into a fall.
Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter
UNESCO calls for ethical AI
Following this call, UNESCO urged nations across the globe to immediately start implementing its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence from 2021. This normative framework that 193 Member States unanimously adopted offers all the necessary safeguards and guides on how to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of AI. It includes values and principles as well as comprehensive policy suggestions in all pertinent fields.
So far, over 40 countries have joined UNESCO in the development of AI check and balances. Yet, the organization hustles all the countries to join the movement in order to create an ethical artificial intelligence. The report on the progress should be presented at the UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, scheduled for December 2023 in Slovenia.
Final thoughts
Without any doubt, artificial intelligence can be more than a useful tool in the hands of a good craftsman. However, it will take time and considerable effort to figure out the best way to get ready for a future with growing AI applications. Though artificial intelligence might have adverse effects on people’s life, they could be minimized with wider future adoption and mastering how to implement AI.
These may be difficult issues to resolve, as is the case with any disruptive event. However, as long as humans are still engaged in problem-solving, we will be able to benefit from many positive aspects of AI while minimizing its negative effects. Changes may be hard and slow to embrace, but they almost always lead to significant progress and advancement. The same will possibly happen with artificial intelligence.
