Can regulation stop artificial intelligence wiping out humanity?

The arrival of super intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) could wipe out humanity. That’s the fear of leading AI figures, who have today signed an open letter calling for AI safety to be a ‘global priority’. Geoffrey Hinton, a legendary figure among AI researchers, recently left Google and sounded the alarm. ‘It’s the first time in mankind’s history that we’re on the brink of developing something smarter than us,’ he told The Spectator. ‘We may be history’. Sixty-one percent of Americans polled recently by Ipsos agree with him that AI is a threat to civilisation.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and the chief architect of ChatGPT, is an enthusiastic advocate for more powerful AI and the positive changes it could bring. But appearing recently before Congress, he also articulated his ‘worst fears’ that the technology ‘causes significant harm to the world’. He also called for regulation, startling Senators unused to businesses advocating for tighter government control.