Fear of the unknown is an integral part of the human experience, especially when the unknown is something as powerful as generative AI. So, as generative AI models grow in popularity, so do the concerns surrounding them.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that more than two-thirds of Americans have concerns about the dangers of AI.
also: 6 malicious ways ChatGPT can be used by bad actors
The poll also revealed that fears have grown beyond simple anxiety. Of the 4,415 US adults surveyed, 61% believe AI is a threat to humanity, nearly triple the number of respondents who do not see it as a threat.
These fears may be partly inspired by sci-fi movies, which often depict AI as a threat – cue The Terminator.
However, many of those fears are also rooted in the very real dangers of generative AI models like ChatGPT.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week to address the dangers of AI and called for regulation.
Also: I asked ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard what their concerns were. Google’s AI went Terminator to me
AI pioneers and Turing Award winners Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio have both spoken publicly about the risks of AI and the need for immediate regulation.
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Wednesday, Bengio shared that the AI race has become “unhealthy” and a “danger to political systems, to democracy, to the nature of truth.”
Bengio also urged people, such as AI experts, regulators, and policymakers, to take action.
Also: ChatGPT and new AI are disrupting cybersecurity in exciting and scary ways
“Right now there are a lot of emotions, a lot of outcry within the broader AI community. But we need more investigations and more thinking about how we adapt to the future,” Bengio said in the interview. “That’s the scientific method.”
