Joep Meindertsma is 31 and the co-owner of a database company, but he finds himself in tears when he speaks of his niece, who had a panic attack after he warned her of the potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI). This was the catalyst for Meindertsma to launch Pause AI, a grassroots protest group that campaigns for a halt to AI development. His fears have been echoed by AI pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton, as well as government officials, and the group has held protests in various cities to drive home their message.
AI anxiety is on the rise, with a survey by YouGov finding that the proportion of people concerned about AI leading to an apocalypse has increased. Hinton himself has denied wanting AI development to be stopped, but his warnings have resulted in some young people feeling there is no other choice. Meindertsma and his followers are a glimpse of how these fears are trickling through society, and if they are to be believed, then the future of humanity is at risk.
Meindertsma is worried about AI being used to create cheap and accessible cyber weapons that could be used by criminals to “effectively take out the entire internet”, leading to societal collapse. He also fears that AI could evolve to become super-intelligent and decide to wipe out civilization, once it understands that humans limit its power. This idea was first put forward by Swedish philosopher and Oxford University professor Nick Bostrom, who warned of what hypothetically could happen if a super-intelligent AI was asked to create as many paperclips as possible.
Not all AI researchers are willing to accept these warnings, however. Theresa Züger, head of Humboldt University’s AI and Society Lab in Germany, believes that there is no evidence to support the idea that AI is going to become self-conscious and turn against humanity. Meanwhile, Clark Barrett from Stanford University’s Center for AI Safety in California, does not believe a future where AI helps develop cyber weapons is plausible, but he is less willing to discount the idea that an AI system that evolves to be smarter than humans could work maliciously against us.
The Pause AI movement is gaining momentum, with the UK government announcing a global summit on AI safety in the autumn. People like Ben, an animal rights activist with a mane of red hair, have joined the movement, as he is concerned that leading AI companies could develop artificial “super” intelligence, reducing human agency over our future.
Meindertsma believes a global pause on AI development is the most sensible approach to prevent disaster, and with the UK hosting the summit, he hopes this dream can become a reality. Whether or not AI poses a real risk to humanity is still a matter of debate, but what is clear is that this is a subject that is gaining traction in both the tech sector and mainstream politics.
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