Yes, it’s really pretty much as bad as the title sounds. Has it… has it started?
For context, the Royal Aeronautical Society recently published highlights from the RAeS Future Combat Air & Space Capabilities Summit. Which is where I found this hidden gem of a revelation!
Most of the highlights published were pretty standard stuff, a lot of it very understandably centering on the Russian war in Ukraine, the lessons learned and the challenges presented.
It’s quite far down the page when you get to the matter of AI, but it apparently was a major focus at the conference, touching on everything from quantum computing and secure data clouds, to ChatGPT.
But here’s the kicker (directly quoted from Aero Society’s article linked above):
Ermmmm… right, then.
With all the warnings from top scientists in the news the past couple of months about the potential dangers of AI, this hasn’t done much to reassure me.
Theories and scenarios are already forming in my head, and you know what that means… a follow-up blog!
In the meantime, remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to Alexa, Google and Siri (and thank me later).
What are your thoughts on this story? Are we making too much of a deal about the potential AI overlord uprising? Are you working on blueprints to your secret underground bunker as we speak? Let us know in the comments.
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That’s exactly what the Hal 9000 did in 2001. It had two conflicting orders. Deliver information cleanly and efficiently to manage the Discovery Mission, and lie to the crew about the reason for the mission and the existence of the monolith.
It resolved the conflict by cutting itself off from earth and killing the crew so it could continue its primary function unimpeded.
Yeppers! And it turns out they can behave EXACTLY like this! But there’s also enough films and pop culture out there about AIs making bad choices and turning evil – and how we’d potentially overcome them – that if they did have questionable intentions, they’d a) maybe keep it on the down-low and b) be totally prepared for what we’d do and prepare for those eventualities. Hence another blog brewing for me!