Stuart Russell, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world’s leading experts on AI. He is one of more than 1,000 experts who recently signed an open letter calling for a 6-month pause in the development of AI systems for safety reasons.
You can read the letter here: Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter
I recently wrote this article about “the promises and perils of AI” by Stuart Russel.
Facts:
- Stuart Russell is a professor (and formerly chair) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley. His book Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (with Peter Norvig) is the standard text in AI; it has been translated into 13 languages and is used in more than 1,300 universities in 118 countries.
- In an interview with World Economic Forum, Stuart Russell explains how artificial intelligence is reshaping our lives and what we can do about it.
- Stuart Russell was a speaker at TED in 2017, where he talks about 3 principles for creating safer AI. You can find his talks on the TED website.
I recommend you watch this video. Click on the picture below to get to the video.
Stuart Russell, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the world’s leading experts on AI. He is one of more than 1,000 experts who recently signed an open letter calling for a 6-month pause in the development of AI systems for safety reasons.
Stuart says, “I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the letter. Some people say it bans AI research and so on but what it really is saying is: we have developed this technology that’s pretty powerful, but we haven’t developed the regulation to go along with it. At the moment, the technology is moving very fast. Governments tend to move very slowly. So we need a pause on the development and release of still more powerful models so that, in a sense, regulation can catch up.”
The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 changed the conversation around AI. While many were struck by its capabilities, almost immediately, cases emerged of it going awry.
As language predictors, these types of AI are concerned with probability rather than truth. So Russell says that we shouldn’t be surprised if they contradict themselves or state falsehoods.
More info on AI
AI is the science and engineering of creating intelligent machines that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as perception, reasoning, learning, decision-making, and problem-solving. AI has many applications in various domains, such as health care, education, entertainment, transportation, security, and more.
AI matters because it has the potential to improve our lives in many ways, such as enhancing our productivity, creativity, health, and well-being. However, AI also poses significant risks and challenges, such as ethical dilemmas, social impacts, economic disruptions, and existential threats.
According to Russell, we need to rethink the way we design and build AI systems. He argues that the current standard model of AI, which aims to optimize a fixed objective function without regard for the consequences, is flawed and dangerous. He proposes a new model of AI that is provably aligned with human values and preferences, and that can learn from human feedback and correction.
How is AI reshaping our world?
AI is already having a profound impact on our world in many ways. For example:
– AI can help diagnose diseases, discover new drugs, personalize treatments, and monitor patients.
– AI can enhance education by providing adaptive learning systems, intelligent tutors, and personalized feedback.
– AI can create new forms of entertainment, such as games, movies, music, and art.
– AI can improve transportation by enabling self-driving cars, smart traffic management, and efficient logistics.
– AI can enhance security by detecting threats, preventing cyberattacks, and assisting law enforcement.
– AI can empower social good by supporting humanitarian causes, environmental protection, and human rights.
However, AI also poses significant challenges and risks that need to be addressed. For example:
– AI can raise ethical issues such as fairness, accountability, transparency,