The Dangerous Race for AI ‘Superintelligence’
On the new season of The Future with Hannah Fry, she discovers how profit is likely coming before safety, and how little we know about what will happen.
Photographer: AFP
Artificial intelligence has begun to exhibit early glimpses of agency. It’s an eventuality that is only now dawning on much of humanity, and one that will inexorably lead to a moment where we realize the dreams or nightmares (or something in between) of AI. Are the vast amounts of money being poured into the technology something that will yield a superintelligence beyond human control? Will it be a force for immeasurable good or a tool of self-destruction? A little bit of both?
On the first episode of the new season of The Future with Hannah Fry from Bloomberg Originals, the professor, mathematician and writer explores the promise of AI as she witnesses robots struggling with simple tasks humans take for granted. She also speaks with experts who warn that, given the trillions of dollars being spent on AI research and the even larger potential for profit, it’s unlikely the tech barons in Silicon Valley racing to cash in will prioritize safety of the species over unprecedented profit.