Photo by Sofia R. Dracopoulos
Sofia R. Dracopoulos@sofiarousseaudracopoulos «And as the prime minister of a leading shipping nation, it is worth remembering a stark fact: More than 90% of global trade is conducted by sea. If we systematically threaten the freedom of navigation and do not protect vital sea routes, the global economy risks coming to a grinding halt. And this is something that should be of great interest to every single country represented in this great Assembly. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude with a few thoughts on the topic of artificial intelligence. One of my favorite bands when I was growing up was Talking Heads. Little did I know at the time that David Byrne’s iconic song “we are on a road to nowhere” would ring so prescient four decades later. For the first time in the history of our species, we have created a technology that openly challenges the supremacy of the human mind as the pinnacle of our evolutionary development. I will not dwell on the transformational potential of this revolutionary technology, whether in disease eradication, productivity enhancement, or fighting climate change. However, it is simply impossible to ignore the fact that, at present, the risks of an unchecked and unregulated advance in artificial intelligence could greatly outweigh its potential benefits. When the people developing the technology tell us openly that, “left unchecked AI could outrun our ability to control these systems” and admit that “we only understand a tiny fraction of what goes on in these models”, alarm bells should ring very loudly for all of us. In simple words, AI bosses are telling us that they have no idea how recursive self-improvement, the ability of AI to constantly create better versions of itself, actually works. Add to that the possibility of massive job destruction, the likelihood of unprecedented wealth creation in the hands of very few, and the impact that AI may have on the very nature of human relationships, especially for our kids, and you have all the ingredients of an unprecedented political and social upheaval. The idea that the big tech companies will find some voluntary arrangement to self-regulate the development of AI is naive.»
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