A discovery of artificial intelligence that poses a threat to humanity may have been behind the row at the company Open AI, in which CEO Sam Altman was fired – but later reinstated.
– It’s about when AI becomes more powerful and intelligent than humans and can then get past its own restrictions and create its own agendas, says Anna Felländer, CEO of the company anch.AI and researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology.
There have been several trips around the company Open AI, which is behind the Chat GPT service. Open AI’s CEO Sam Altman was fired on Friday, but after 95 percent of the employees threatened to quit, he was allowed to return on Wednesday, while several members of the board were replaced.
Now information has emerged that an AI discovery that threatens humanity may be behind the crisis. Several employed researchers are said to have alerted the company’s board of directors to the discovery, which may have been a trigger for the turmoil, sources told the news agency Reuters.
According to the sources, it is a breakthrough in artificial general intelligence (AGI).
– It’s about when AI becomes more powerful and intelligent than humans and can then get past its own restrictions and create its own agendas, says Anna Felländer who is CEO of the company anch.AI and researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology about the technology.
According to her, this could mean that AI could infiltrate digital systems that govern societies – inadvertently or on purpose.
– It can harm us via drones and robots or via cars. An example is cyber attacks and generating and spreading viruses. Then the AI can also exploit itself. That’s the theory.
“Devastating consequences for the world”
During AI’s progress, questions have been raised about whether it is right to hand over responsibility for AI to individual private companies, something Anna Felländer agrees with. According to her, it is important to shift the focus towards existential issues regarding regulation in AI and look at Open AI’s goals with the product.
– When you have a commercial product, a company as centralized as Open AI, with now a board of only men, they have no woman on the board, cannot add values like non-democratic private actors.
Several big names in AI and the tech world have also signed on open letter to the EU where they warn of impoverishing a future AI team. The letter warns that this would have “devastating consequences for the world”.
– It is now about us needing to raise the issue and focus on which exact lines are required and which regulations need to be accelerated, says Anna Felländer.
The product has already been developed – isn’t it too late?
– No, but this is now raised to the public and to regulators so we can control the development and understand the trade-off between profit-driven agendas and preserving humanity, says Anna Felländer.