Artificial intelligence is a technology that many companies are actively working on. It has become increasingly evident that this technology has the potential to grow into something we thought was pure science fiction. Recent artificial intelligence accomplishments have even gotten tech savvy persons like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking to warn governments about the technology. Now, The House of Lords in the United Kingdom is reaching out to experts to explain the future of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the world. In a recent interview, Elon Musk had this to say about AI:
“AI is a fundamental existential risk for human civilization, and I don’t think people fully appreciate that,” Musk said. He said he has access to cutting-edge AI technology, and that based on what he’s seen, AI is “the scariest problem.” Musk told the governors that AI calls for precautionary, proactive government intervention: “I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it’s too late,” he said.
He was clearly not thrilled to make that argument, calling regulation generally “not fun” and “irksome,” but he said that in the case of AI, the risks are too high to allow AI to develop unfettered. “I think people should be really concerned about it,” Musk said. “I keep sounding the alarm bell.”
So it seems the U.K. is taking the commentary to heart by deciding to delve deeper into the impact of AI on their country and potentially the world.
“The Committee wants to use this inquiry to understand what opportunities may exist for society in the development and use of artificial intelligence, as well as what risks there might be,” Lord Clement-Jones, chairman of the committee on AI, said in a statement.
It will be interesting to see if the U.S. and other countries start looking into AI as well and to see what sort of determinations come out of all of this.
What do you think of AI? What do you think of Elon Musk’s thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
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