According to a recent study by Google DeepMind, human-level artificial intelligence (AI), also known as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), could exist by 2030 and “permanently destroy humanity.”
According to the study, existential dangers that “permanently destroy humanity” are blatant examples of extreme harm. “Given the massive potential impact of AGI, we expect that it too could pose potential risk of severe harm,” the report said.
“Between these extremes, society’s collective risk tolerance and conceptualization of harm determine whether a particular harm is severe; Google DeepMind has no jurisdiction to make that determination.”
Notably, Shane Legg, a co-founder of DeepMind, did not expressly address how AGI might lead to the extinction of humanity in the paper. Rather, it emphasizes the precautions that Google and other AI firms ought to take to lessen the harm posed by AGI.
The study separates the risks of advanced AI into four major categories: misuse, misalignment, mistakes and structural risks. It also highlights DeepMind’s risk mitigation strategy which is centred around misuse prevention where people could use AI to harm others.
DeepMind CEO warns
In February, Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind stated that AGI, which is as smart or smarter than humans, will start to emerge in the next five or 10 years. He also batted for a UN-like umbrella organisation to oversee AGI’s development.
“To try and make that as safe as possible, I would advocate for a kind of CERN for AGI, and by that, I mean a kind of international research focused high-end collaboration on the frontiers of AGI development,” Mr. Hassabis stated.
In order to keep an eye on risky projects and handle them, you would also need to pair it with an organization like the IAEA. And lastly, a supervening body of some sort that incorporates numerous nations worldwide and provides input on how you wish to use and implement these technologies. Thus, something that is appropriate for a technical UN, something that is somewhat like a UN umbrella,” he continued.
What is AGI?
AGI takes AI a step further. While AI is task-specific, AGI aims to possess intelligence that can be applied across a wide range of tasks, similar to human intelligence. In essence, AGI would be a machine with the ability to understand, learn, and apply knowledge in diverse domains, much like a human being.
