Ah, the jet-setting life of an AI CEO, flitting from one world leader to another in a quest to save humanity from the very technology he’s helping to create. Enter Sam Altman, the head honcho of OpenAI, the company behind the talkative AI assistant, ChatGPT.
You see, Altman’s latest mission is to get global leaders to don their thinking caps and envision a future where artificial intelligence might just be the ruin of society. Forget about the pesky short-term issues; no, we’re talking end-of-the-world, dystopian nightmare scenarios here. And according to a recent talk in Tokyo, Altman believes he’s getting somewhere.
“One of the reasons for this trip was to get to talk to leaders around the world about what we think needs to happen globally,”Altman said, with a hint of optimism. “I came to the trip…skeptical that it was going to be possible in the short term to get global cooperation to reduce existential risk, but I am now wrapping up the trip feeling quite optimistic we can get it done.”
Of course, when it comes to the nitty-gritty of what exactly “needs to happen”in the realm of AI governance, Altman and his AI compatriots are playing their cards close to the chest. But fear not, dear reader, for we have some hints from a recent US congressional hearing.
In what can only be described as a friendly little tete a tete about the potential annihilation of humanity, Altman suggested that the main course of action should be to establish a new regulatory agency. Its target? Keeping a watchful eye on anyone dabbling with “superintelligence.”
For those not in the know, “superintelligence”refers to a hypothetical future AI so smart it makes us mere mortals look like bumbling fools. We’re talking an AI that could outsmart a human being, or perhaps even the entire human race. While our current chatbot, ChatGPT, isn’t quite there yet, it’s this looming possibility that has Altman knocking on the doors of the world’s most powerful people.
So, as we sit back and watch the AI drama unfold, one can only hope that Altman’s globe-trotting efforts pay off, and the world’s leaders take heed of the potential consequences of unchecked AI development. After all, it’s not every day that an AI CEO pops in for a chat about the possible end of the world as we know it.[…]
