OpenAI might have just given Microsoft the keys to the generative AI kingdom after signing a new definitive agreement that allows the software giant to pursue AGI (artificial general intelligence) independently or in collaboration with third parties. However, Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, has recently been critical about AI development, its safety, and, by extension, its long-term impact on humanity.
While AI has proven to be an invaluable piece of technology that has helped drive significant growth across education, computing, medicine, and entertainment, it also ships with its own fair share of challenges, including privacy, security, and an existential threat.
Not to sound like an alarmist, but Roman Yampolskiy, AI safety researcher and director of the Cyber Security Laboratory at the University of Louisville, did claim that there's a 99.999999% probability that AI will lead to humanity's extinction, based on the concept of p(doom). Even more unsettling, he suggests the only way to prevent this outcome is to avoid building AI altogether. Unfortunately, that ship may have sailed the moment we started investing in trillion-dollar data centers.
Earlier this year, Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, sounded a similar alarm about the dangers of "conscious AI," further indicating that society isn't ready to handle all that it entails. Debatably, some of the prospects for the rapid progression of AI that seemingly keep Google DeepMind's CEO Demis Hassabis up at night.
More recently, Suleyman indicated that superintelligence AIs aren't going to replace humanity.
I've said in the past that it's going to be more like a digital species. I've referred to it as seemingly conscious, having the appearance of conscious but not actually being conscious. I think in general, we're all grappling for the right words to describe the arrival of this very different technology compared to anything we've ever seen before. And I think the more people are talking about humanism, right? The primacy of the human, that's a framework, and it's the beginnings of a broader idea that I think lots of other people should develop and adapt and so on. But that's a very clear statement, which is that these things like the project of superintelligence should not be about replacing or threatening our species. Like that should just be taken for granted. It's crazy to have to actually declare that. That should be self-evident, but I'm seeing lots of indications that people don't always agree.
Microsoft AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman
Microsoft's Suleyman says superintelligent AIs should not replace our species - "and it's crazy to have to actually declare that" - but many in AI don't agree. from r/OpenAI
This news comes after Suleyman announced that Microsoft is doubling down on its AI advances after forming a new team called MAI Superintelligence to pursue the coveted benchmark. According to the executive:
"Microsoft needs to be self-sufficient in AI. And to do that, we have to train frontier models of all scales with our own data and compute at the state-of-the-art level."
But compared to rival research AI labs, Microsoft is developing humanist superintelligence to deliver "all the goodness of science and invention without the “uncontrollable risks” part". Suleyman is advocating superintelligence to serve humans, not to outrightly replace them.
FAQ
Is Microsoft free to pursue AGI independently from OpenAI?
After signing a new definitive agreement, Microsoft is at liberty to pursue superintelligence and AGI away from its multi-billion partnership with OpenAI, independently or in collaboration with third parties.
What does Microsoft hope to achieve with AGI?
According to Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, the company wants to use superintelligence to deliver significant scientific breakthroughs and innovations that will serve humanity, not replace them.
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