As most in the tech world know, thousands of technology leaders and execs have recently signed an open letter to ask AI researchers to pause their efforts to create ever larger and more complex LLMs (large language models) like OpenAI’s GPT-4. The concern: AI so powerful could have huge negative consequences for humans.
But Singularity Group founder Ray Kurzweil just said he’s not interested in a pause.
From my post at Forbes:
Google director of engineering, futurist, inventor, and author Ray Kurzweil is not in favor of the Future of Life open letter calling for a pause on “giant AI experiments.” And while that might make sense just based on his position as the co-founder of the Singularity Group, an organization founded on the idea that technological innovation is increasingly accelerate towards a fundamentally transformational time known as the “singularity,” he also has some good practical reasons.
It’s vague, impractical, and won’t be adhered to by competitors, Kurzweil says. And, he adds, it would be costly in many fields where AI is helping.
One of my concerns: it’s hard to see how we could agree on, create, and enforce any kind of global moratorium on certain aspects of AI development.