Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who was with the search giant for two decades, warned that artificial intelligence could be dangerously used to harm and kill others in the future.
Warning: Dangers of AI Misuse
MailOnline reports that Mr. Schmidt mentioned this warning during a gathering of senior executives at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit last Wednesday. He thinks that the technology poses an existential risk for humanity because several people may end up harmed or killed because of it. He notes that AI could end up being misused by evil people when it becomes even more developed and advanced.
Per Business Insider, Mr. Schmidt also expressed the need for the government to make sure that AI would not end up getting misused.
He explains that while these scenarios may not be a present-day concern, reasonably soon, systems could be able to find new biologies or detect zero-day exploits, which are security vulnerabilities that hackers find in systems and software. He adds that when this takes place, they will want to be ready to ensure that such things do not end up getting misused, CNBC reports.
The exact picture of AI being regulated was quite vague for Mr. Schmidt, but he notes that it is a broader question that society has to consider. He adds, however, to the unlikelihood of having a new regulatory body set up specifically for AI regulation.
Mr. Schmidt served as Google's chief executive from 2001 up to 2011. Later, he became the executive chairman of the company until 2015. He has also recently chaired the US National Security Commission on AI.
AI Warnings
While Mrs. Schmidt's caution comes as a stark warning, he is not the first to warn against the dangers that come with AI advancements.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also mentioned that AI could be one of the biggest risks that civilization would face, as reported by CNN. He expressed that AI may lead to civilization destruction and that the technology is more dangerous than bad car production or mishandled aircraft design.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also previously expressed his fears pertaining to artificial intelligence. Per CNBC, Mr. Altman explained his worries regarding authoritarian agencies making the technology. He also added that he fears how AI could be used to make biological pathogens or hack systems, Fox News reports.
Even present Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who was recently overseeing the launch of Google's very own Bard AI, expressed that the technology will affect each and every product of all companies. He adds that society must brace itself for these changes.
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