British computer scientist on ‘really scary thing’ about new AI models

Sophisticated artificial intelligence technology can be used as powerful tool to manipulate individuals, a computer scientist has warned. Sky News journalist Sophy Ridge, said the prospect was “genuinely really scary” during a segment on Sky News this morning. Professor Stuart Russell, director of the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public at the University of California, is one of more than 30,000 signatories to an open letter urging caution when it comes to the development of sophisticated AI software.

Specifically, they calling for a pause on training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, a machine model so sophisticated it can even pass the bar exam.

Prof Russell, asked by Ms Ridge to outline his concerns, said: “There’s a distinction between the systems that already exist, and I think one of the biggest concerns is disinformation and deep fakes.

“We’ve had disinformation for a long time, propaganda, and all that, but the difference here is I can now ask GPT-4 to read all about Sophy Ridge’s social media presence, everything Sophy Ridge has ever said or written, all about Sophie Ridge’s friends.”

He continued: “And then I could just begin a campaign gradually by adjusting your news feed, maybe occasionally sending some fake news along into your news feed, so that you’re a little bit less supportive of Ukraine.

“And you start pushing harder on politicians who say we should support Ukraine in the war against Russia, and so on. That will be very easy to do and the really scary thing is that we could do that to a million different people before lunch.

“And so you can have a huge impact with these systems for the worse, by manipulating people in ways that they don’t even realise is happening.”

Asked by Ms Ridge, who described the prospect as “genuinely really scary”, whether such things were already happening, he added: replied: “I would say quite likely, yes.

“There are, we know, in China, Russia and North Korea, large teams of people who pump out disinformation. And we’ve just given them a power tool.”

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Looking to the future, he said: “The concern of the letter is really about the next generation of the system. Right now, the systems I think, have some limitations in their ability to construct complicated plans.

“For example, you know, if you want to plan for one company to take over another, that’s a really complicated thing and I don’t think these systems can generate those kinds of plans successfully.

“But it is quite possible that the next generation or the generation after that could start to do that and then you could see corporations being run by AI systems.You could see military campaigns being organised by AI systems and in the long run, the concern is quite a simple one.

“If you’re building systems that are more powerful than human beings, how do human beings keep power over those systems forever? And that’s the real concern behind the open letter.”

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SpaceX boss Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic mastermind Sir Richard Branson have also signed the letter, issued by the Future of Life institute earlier this month. It states: “Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth?

“Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilisation?

“Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders.

Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.”

 

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