A warning has been issued by industry leaders that the development of artificial intelligence (A.I) technology could potentially pose a threat to humanity, on par with pandemics and nuclear war. The statement was released by the Center for AI Safety, a non-profit organization, and was signed by over 350 researchers and engineers working in AI, including senior executives from three of the leading AI companies, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, as well as Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, two of the pioneers of the modern AI movement. The fear is that the progress in AI technology could lead to job losses, the spreading of lies and misinformation and AI becoming so powerful that it could cause disruption to society. The urgency of these warnings from industry leaders has increased as more people turn to AI chatbots for companionship, entertainment and increased productivity. Mr. Altman, in Senate testimony, warned that AI could be regulated by the government due to its harmful effects, and suggested that manufacturers of large, high-tech AIs should apply for a state-issued license.
