Elon Musk joins tech leaders in call for pause on 'giant AI experiments'

The advanced technology could pose 'profound risks to society and humanity', leaders caution

Elon Musk joined leading experts in the tech industry warning that AI whose intelligence is competitive with human beings could pose 'profound risks'. AP

An open letter signed by tech industry leaders and Tesla founder Elon Musk called on AI labs to pause “giant AI experiments” for at least six months, fearing that AI technology whose intelligence is competitive with that of human beings can “pose profound risks to society and humanity”.

The letter — whose signatories include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, AI expert Stuart Russell, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and other leading academics and executives — said AI labs around the world are engaged in an “out-of-control race” to develop the most powerful AI systems, which could be more powerful than anyone can imagine.

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

The letter comes after recent fake photos generated by AI spread across social media. One photo that went viral showed Pope Francis wearing a luxury white puffer jacket. That AI-generated image first appeared on Reddit before duping users on Twitter.

Another featured several photos of Donald Trump being apprehended by police officers, which circulated days after he claimed without evidence that he would be arrested. The former US president himself shared a Truth Social post that contained an AI-generated image of him kneeling in prayer.

Tech leaders said AI labs should immediately pause training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months while they develop safety protocols that would be overseen by an independent panel.

“These protocols should ensure that systems adhering to them are safe beyond a reasonable doubt,” the letter reads.

“This does not mean a pause on AI development in general, merely a stepping back from the dangerous race to ever-larger unpredictable black-box models with emergent capabilities.”

The letter also called for new regulators, oversight, public funding for AI safety research, liability for AI-caused harm and more.

Mr Musk this week commented on Twitter after an AI-generated image circulated of him purportedly holding hands with Mary Barra, the head of car company GM.