Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat to Humanity?
posted by homer2000
Answer: The question is framed as whether or not AI is a threat to humanity, but goes on to question how intelligent AIs can become. The majority of existing threats to humanity are not intelligent, such as viruses and meteor impacts. Humans are a threat to themselves, especially since the advent of nuclear weapons, but they are the ONLY intelligent thing that I would consider a real threat, excepting the possibility of aliens visiting our solar system.
This is not to say that intelligent AIs are not more dangerous than relatively unintelligent ones, but an intelligent or even superintelligent (more intelligent than humanly possible) isn't inherently dangerous. This is where the field of AI alignment comes in, with the goal of making sure that AIs are developed with robust safety measures to keep AIs from deciding to wipe out humanity, either out of malice or as some variation of a paperclip maximizer who gives humans no moral consideration.
January 31, 2023 10:25 pm PST