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Musk and Others Urge PAUSE on A.I. Development for SCARY Reason

Is there trouble just over the horizon?

The recent emergence of some startling new artificial intelligence products has prompted experts and eccentrics alike to urge some modicum of moderation this week.

Tools like ChatGPT appear to be revolutionizing the way in which we interact with the world around us to an obscene degree.  Economists have been warning that the tool is powerful enough to replace the need for mass swaths of the work force, and in a such a sudden way as to cause an economic disaster of some size.

But there are other reasons to be worried about the speed at which A.I. is developing, and a bevy of experts are now suggesting that he take a step back and reevaluate the situation before going any further.

Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives are calling for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI’s newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society.

Earlier this month, Microsoft-backed OpenAI unveiled the fourth iteration of its GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) AI program, which has wowed users by engaging them in human-like conversation, composing songs and summarising lengthy documents.

“Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable,” said the letter issued by the Future of Life Institute.

Musk has been concerned about the possibilities for some time.

The non-profit is primarily funded by the Musk Foundation, as well as London-based group Founders Pledge, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation, according to the European Union’s transparency register.

“AI stresses me out,” Musk said earlier this month. He is one of the co-founders of industry leader OpenAI and his carmaker Tesla uses AI for an autopilot system.

The accelerating pace of A.I. development has led to concerns in the world of art as well, with artificial “artists” creating hyper-realistic and nuanced pieces in just a matter of moments.

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