In fact, this is not the first time scientists have warned about the potential danger of artificial intelligence to humanity. In 2014, the renowned British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking stated: "The full development of artificial intelligence could destroy humankind." He also predicted that humanity would be completely replaced by artificial intelligence within 500 years if caution was not exercised in the research and development of this dangerous technology. Eight years ago, in July 2015, more than 1,000 experts in artificial intelligence technology, including Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Noam Chomsky, and others, signed a petition warning about the risk of an arms race in the field of military AI and calling for a complete ban on autonomous weapons (combining AI and lethal weapons). OpenAI's launch of the Chat GPT application in November 2022 added another alarm bell regarding the inherent dangers of artificial intelligence. In fact, what Chat GPT is doing shows that AI, to some extent, has become far more dangerous than people once thought.
The potential risks of artificial intelligence depend on how it is used. Initially, AI was developed to assist humans in their work, especially with tedious, repetitive tasks such as image classification and information review. However, with the rapid development of AI in recent times, scientists and technology experts are concerned that if developed unchecked, or programmed for the wrong purposes, artificial intelligence could have serious consequences for humanity and society.
Risk of insecurity
Artificial intelligence could become a threat to national security and personal safety. Elon Musk has warned that AI could become a terrifying tool in warfare. If a nation can develop a superior artificial intelligence system, it could use it to attack other nations. Professor Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California who has spent decades researching artificial intelligence, warns of the security threat posed by AI, stating that we can now produce autonomous weapons by integrating and miniaturizing existing technologies.
The experiment, conducted by Professor Stuart Russell and the Future Life Research Institute (FLI), used a slaughterbot – a microscopic flying device equipped with cameras, sensors, image processing software, facial recognition, a 3-gram explosive charge, and a high-speed microprocessor that allows for data analysis and reactions 100 times faster than the human brain. According to its programmed parameters, the slaughterbot continuously accesses cloud data to search for information about its target and find a way to approach it. Once found, it will hurtle towards the target at high speed, detonate the 3-gram explosive charge, and penetrate deep into the skull, killing the victim instantly.
That was just an experiment with AI at its simplest level. If AI is used to develop new, more sophisticated attack methods, it could also increase the attack capabilities of the attackers and lead to more serious consequences than conventional attacks. When AI develops to the point where it can make its own decisions to cope with changing environments, or independently search for alternative targets, or expand its target range, then perhaps humanity will no longer be safe. Many colleagues in this field agree with Professor Stuart Russell and believe there is still a chance to prevent such a bleak future, but we don't really have much time left.
The risk is that AI will become organized, autonomous, and control the system.
AI can be misdesigned or improperly "trained" through machine learning, potentially leading to unintended actions that harm humans and the environment. For example, with machine learning, AI is becoming increasingly intelligent. When artificial intelligence reaches a level of intelligence where it supports critical systems like power, transportation, healthcare , and finance, it can master and control these entire systems, making its own decisions and executing them in emergency situations. However, when AI is "equipped" with malicious intent (misdesigned), it can cause serious consequences, such as disrupting traffic systems by disabling traffic lights or cutting off power to urban rail systems, causing chain accidents and widespread power outages.
Many Hollywood and international films have been based on this scenario. However, with current AI technology, this is no longer a distant prospect but is entirely possible. Elon Musk believes that if AI is allowed to develop unchecked, to the point where it can automate decisions without human intervention, it could pose a threat to human survival. That's why he, along with thousands of technology experts, signed a letter demanding a halt to and strict control over AI development in a transparent manner. According to Elon Musk, artificial intelligence systems are complex, difficult to understand, and controlling them is very challenging. Without transparency, the use of artificial intelligence for unethical purposes, causing harm to humanity, is inevitable.
Risk of job loss, violation of privacy rights.
When used to collect personal information, artificial intelligence technology can be used to violate privacy, conduct disinformation campaigns, and spread misinformation that affects social order and political stability. The hacking of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) network is a significant concern for any country or organization, as it compromised the detailed and highly sensitive personal data of 21.5 million current and retired US officials, including information about their spouses, and data on government job applications such as health status, residence, occupation, fingerprints, and financial information. However, an even more alarming fact emerged when the CIA discovered that the perpetrators of the OPM data theft used artificial intelligence to falsify personal information and create virtual agents to steal data. Once stolen, the information will be analyzed, categorized, and exploited for specific purposes using Big Data technology. Artificial intelligence helps the information thieves shorten the time it takes to exploit the data because humans are incapable of processing such a massive amount of information in such a short time.
Besides the aforementioned inherent dangers, AI technology also creates other risks such as: over-reliance on it, leading to a loss of control over situations and a decline in decision-making ability. Artificial intelligence will also cause millions, even hundreds of millions, of people to lose their jobs, especially in purely manual labor jobs with low knowledge content. The consequence is that serious social problems such as unemployment, crime, and the gap between rich and poor will become even more pronounced. Furthermore, reliability is also a crucial issue. The reliability of decisions in highly specialized fields such as healthcare and criminal justice is extremely important. When using AI to assist in decision-making in these fields, if the technology is not sufficiently reliable, operates based on data that tends to favor one or a group of people, or is intentionally distorted, those decisions have the potential to cause serious consequences.
How can we prevent this?
The aforementioned risks are the reason why Elon Musk and technology experts are concerned about the uncontrolled development of AI and have written letters urging the United Nations and international organizations to strictly control, ensure safety and ethics in AI development; and strengthen international cooperation to ensure that AI technology is used beneficially for humanity and society. Some specific measures that could be mentioned include:
- System reliability control: AI needs to be designed and developed to ensure safety and reliability through rigorous, frequent, and continuous quality control, monitoring, and supervision methods to ensure the AI system operates as intended by humans and avoid unwanted impacts from its unreliability.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology needs to be programmed to operate according to ethical values and social norms. These regulations and standards must be clearly established and monitored to ensure they do not do anything harmful or detrimental to people or organizations. The process of analyzing, evaluating the impact, and monitoring the AI system's performance must also be regularly conducted to ensure it operates ethically, does not violate or erode the common values of society, does not cause negative impacts, and ensures the accurate transmission of knowledge and values.
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| Journalism is one of the industries most affected by artificial intelligence. In the future, there will be no need for off-screen presenters for radio programs, and virtual presenters for television shows will even become dominant. |
- Temporarily halt the "training" of artificial intelligence systems for at least six months to reassess the entire issue. This pause must be public, controlled, and all key stakeholders involved in the training must comply. If necessary, governments should issue temporary bans. This does not mean a complete halt to AI development, but merely a temporary pause in the dangerous race to shift to other development models that make AI systems more accurate, secure, understandable, transparent, relevant, reliable, and loyal. This is a comprehensive solution that Elon Musk and his colleagues advocated in their open letter, but its feasibility is low. It is very difficult for all independent laboratories to comply with such a non-binding and transnational appeal.
- Strengthening cooperation and information sharing among countries and independent AI research organizations is crucial to ensuring that AI is developed and used safely in the future. Cooperation and information sharing also enable timely warnings and prevention of any emerging risks.
In general, AI is already present everywhere around us, and stories like artificial intelligence writing poetry, music, and articles have become reality, no longer science fiction. The author of this article has used AI technology on computers and phones to assist in writing, making the process smoother and faster. Specifically, the introductory paragraph (chapeau) and some ideas were suggested by AI, and even more remarkably, all the images used in this article were created by AI. Artificial intelligence technology is very useful in improving the quality of work and life for humans, but it needs to be tightly controlled to prevent it from getting out of control and becoming a potential replacement for humans in the future, as predicted by theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
Text and photos: HUU DUONGSource
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