A terrifying warning

Dear friends, The world's top AI researchers issued a terrifying warning about the dangers of the technology they created. Here's what it says:"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war."It sounds like sci-fi, but the people who invented AI are warning it could one day WIPE OUT the human race! Why? Because even they can't always predict how it will respond or what decisions it will take. The problem is AI systems are given goals, and then figure out themselves how to achieve them. If a powerful-enough AI system decided humans stood in the way of its goals, it could decide to wipe us out. We urgently need governments to protect citizens from this technology with new laws - and all over the world they are considering whether to do so. A massive roar of voices from around the world now could make a huge difference!Sign the open letter to governments below, and Avaaz will team up with top experts to deliver it to governments to shape new laws, before it's too late!

Dear friends, The world's top AI researchers issued a terrifying warning about the dangers of the technology they created. Here's what it says: "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war." It sounds like sci-fi, but the people who invented AI are warning it could one day WIPE OUT the human race! Why? Because even they can't always predict how it will respond or what decisions it will take.  The problem is AI systems are given goals, and then figure out themselves how to achieve them. If a powerful-enough AI system decided humans stood in the way of its goals, it could decide to wipe us out.  We urgently need governments to protect citizens from this technology with new laws - and all over the world they are considering whether to do so. A massive roar of voices from around the world now could make a huge difference! Sign the open letter to governments below, and Avaaz will team up with top experts to deliver it to governments to shape new laws, before it's too late! Add your name To world leaders: Artificial intelligence holds much promise – and great risk. Left unchecked, it is already wreaking havoc among vulnerable groups and it could devastate jobs, be used to perpetrate massive human rights abuses, and even threaten human extinction.  We call on you to protect society and individuals from AI threats with new laws that govern the development and deployment of AI systems.  Without laws to protect us, we're risking everything. Act now, while there is still time. Add your name AI-driven extinction might sound far-fetched, and the truth is no-one knows what will happen. But even now AI is used for mass surveillance, reinforcing racist 'predictive policing' models, and could produce industrial quantities of disinformation that makes fact indistinguishable from fiction.  But AI isn't all bad – it could also supercharge our fight against disease, and help us respond to global challenges. Either way, the cat is out of the bag – now we need urgent protections to steer AI towards doing good, not harm, to society.  Avaaz has the scale, contacts and global reach to make a massive difference here. When enough of us sign the open letter, we'll deliver it, alongside top policy recommendations developed together with experts, to governments all over the world. But first we need voices from people everywhere. Add your name to demand protection from AI – and then share with everyone you know! Sign the open letter When social media unleashed a tidal wave of disinformation onto our democracies, Avaaz responded with creative ideas and expert advocacy, helping to pass powerful laws to protect citizens. Now we need to do it again – and this time the stakes are even higher.    With hope and determination, Bert, Fadi, Sarah, Marco, Lily, Joana and the whole team at Avaaz More Information: Top AI researchers and CEOs warn against 'risk of extinction' in 22-word statement (The Verge) AI Is as Risky as Pandemics and Nuclear War, Top CEOs Say, Urging Global Cooperation (Time) Statement from the listed authors of Stochastic Parrots on the "AI pause" letter (DAIR Institute)

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