An open letter calling for pausing the opening of Pandora’s box #AImoratoriumnow
The box is being opened wide as we speak; we need to pause the opening of that lid until we collectively grasp what we are doing and whether it’s wise
AI is the prototypical example of an “exponential technology,” which is defined as a technology that improves at a geometric/exponential pace rather than a linear pace.
We humans evolved in a mostly linear pace of change, and we have lived through eras where barely any societal change happened for decades and even centuries.
We are now living in an era of exponential change driven by exponential technologies.
Exponential technologies promise untold benefits in terms of science, technology, human health, and even spiritual growth.
They also promise untold harm in terms of the pace of change that they will cause around the world, starting in developed nations and then quickly spreading to all nations, massive numbers of lost jobs, bots spreading intentional disinformation, cyber warfare within and between nations, human rights infringements, and perhaps most importantly the threat of runaway AI once AI becomes so advanced it can improve itself.
This point is known as the “singularity,” and it represents a profound unknown in terms of what happens then. We will at that point have created an AI with god-like powers that will quickly have an intelligence so much vaster than our own that we become ants at its feet.
We feel that the risk of these events happening without very deliberate and extensive debate over the wisdom of these actions is too high. We are calling for a moratorium now on all advanced AI chatbot and AGI development more generally — until we have had a collective and extensive debate over the wisdom of summoning these entities into the world.
The United Nations has previously called for a moratorium on AI development that threatens international human rights, so there is some precedent for our call to action now.
#AImoratoriumnow
Signatories:
Tam Hunt, J.D.
David Skrbina, Ph.D, professor of philosophy Univ. of Helsinki
Blaine Williams, M.D., Honolulu
Michael Mrazek, Ph.D, Austin
