“…To date, I am not aware of a single case where damage has been caused by AI that is excessively intelligent. On the contrary, the damage caused by AI that lacks enough intelligence is immeasurable.”
The quoted text is an excerpt from a recent article penned by Pedro Domingos, an esteemed Portuguese professor of computer science at Washington University. Notably, Domingos is the author of the widely acclaimed book “The Master Algorithm,” a recommendation that carries the endorsement of influential figures such as Bill Gates and Nick Bostrom. https://expresso.pt/revista/2023-06-24-O-maior-risco-da-inteligencia-artificial-e-nao-haver-suficiente-36ca2996
What was not surprising in his article, however, was the fact that he wrote in the last paragraph that AI will “give each of us an infinity of personal assistants“, which is something that had already been mentioned on page 58 of the December 10th issue of The Economist.
Personally, I look forward to the multitude of ‘personal assistants’ that AI promises to deliver in the near future. However, truthfully, I am willing to exercise patience if it means AI can redirect its efforts toward a more noble mission. Specifically, I envision AI playing a pivotal role in aiding law enforcement in their pursuit of online sadists—individuals worldwide who engage in abhorrent activities, such as the creation and commissioning of personalized torture videos, as recently exposed by the BBC https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monkey-torture-video-ring-social-media-us-suspects-exposed-bbc-investigation/
Recently, a paper authored by Henry Farrell, a professor of international affairs and democracy at Johns Hopkins University, and Cosma Shalizi, a professor of statistics and machine learning at Carnegie Mellon University, was featured in The Economist. In their insightful analysis, they posit that generative AI serves as a cultural technology capable of “reorganizing and noisily transmitting human knowledge.” Rather than succumbing to fear about the potential adversarial rise of such technologies, they advocate for a proactive stance. Farrell and Shalizi encourage us to focus on comprehending the profound impact of generative AI and explore avenues for directing its capabilities toward societal betterment, particularly in domains like the economy, bureaucracy, and democratic politics.. https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2023/06/21/artificial-intelligence-is-a-familiar-looking-monster-say-henry-farrell-and-cosma-shalizi
PS – A recent article in Business Insider highlighted the results of a survey involving 1,187 business leaders. The findings underscored a compelling trend, indicating that an impressive 91% of employers actively seeking new hires exhibit a strong preference for candidates with experience in ChatGPT. https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-experience-wanted-by-employers-hire-study-2023-4 Some employers even claim to prefer candidates with ChatGPT experience over a college degree.
Pacheco-Torgal 