Key Points
A letter signed by luminaries, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, calling for a six-month "pause" on AI has inspired thousands to add their signatures..
However, in an op-ed for Livemint, journalist Manu Joseph argues that the letter is a part of a larger movement to trigger anxiety and invoke ethics, which is in turn an attempt to stall the progress of AI..
For instance, the very first line: AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research [1]" But among what is cited as research are tired opinions, like an essay that laments the disproportionate size of Western material in machine-learning, and the views of an AI alarmist who thinks machines could misunderstand our instructions and kill us all..
That is why the most amusing part of the letter is this: Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth?".
Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society," the letter says, citing human cloning, germ-line modification, gain-of-function research and eugenics..
