Do not pause AI. Accelerate ethics.

I have started my day today talking to robots.

There was much discussion in the press today about an open letter from the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit organization that brings together names from academia and industry. They focus on transformative technologies that can improve human life and have the potential to address great challenges like “treat and eradicate diseases, strengthen democratic processes, and mitigate - or even halt - climate change.” They also recognize that if improperly managed, these technologies “could produce catastrophic events that bring humanity to its knees, perhaps even pushing us to the brink of extinction.” (From futureoflife.org)

The letter advocates for pausing “the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4” for a minimum of 6 months. During this time, general development would continue but training and evolution of large models would stop while industry and governments develop and implement safety protocols.

Yes, broad adoption of ethical data and AI principles is needed. More transparency in the algorithms and by those that develop them is a must. While the spirit of the letter is noble, I struggle with its practicality and implementation. Historically, trying to stop technological change and progress has never proven to be the best strategy. Moreover, several governments (like the UK) or companies (like IBM as seen in this World Economic Forum report) have already taken decisive steps in embracing AI Ethics. Rather than stopping anything, I would venture that we should accelerate the dialogue with the industry, policymakers, and society to reign back the abuse, clearly identify and call out offenders, and enforce ethical behavior.

I have always preferred to call AI, Augmented Intelligence. It is my way to say that we are still the ones in charge. In this cyborg spirit of an enhanced intelligence, I have asked Bard and ChatGPT how they feel about the letter. I have to say that I side with the robots. Here is their story.

This article represents my personal views.It does not represent the views of any companies I have been or am presently affiliated with.