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AI extinction warning: ‘fully justified’ or ‘premature’?

AI extinction
Image credit: ThomasAFink via Shutterstock

Figures in the UK AI community have had a mixed reaction to the strongly worded warning that AI posed a genuine risk of human “extinction”.

The joint statement, organised by the Centre for AI Safety and signed by prominent AI experts including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, was published yesterday.

The statement read: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war”.

The warning, which was also signed by the chief executive of Google DeepMind, comes as tools like ChatGPT have exploded into the mainstream and are disrupting the world of work.

There has been a mixed reaction to the stirring statement, with some suggesting the risks are being overblown, and others in full agreement that AI has the potential to cause serious harm to humanity....