Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned Tuesday, Nov. 28, that artificial intelligence could pose a danger to humanity within the next five to 10 years. At the Axios AI+ Summit in Washington, D.C., Schmidt said he worries about “the point at which the computer can start to make its own decisions to do things.”
Schmidt compared the development of nuclear weapons to that of AI, saying that it took 18 years to get a treaty over test bans after Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
“We don’t have that kind of time,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt called for the creation of a body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to provide guidance to policymakers, who would regulate AI. He also said that AI could have significant benefits, such as helping to improve health care and education.
However, the potential risks of AI are causing growing concern among some experts.
Reuters reported that staff researchers at OpenAI sent a letter to the board of directors warning that a significant AI breakthrough could pose a threat to humanity. This letter was allegedly one of the reasons why the board dismissed Sam Altman as the company’s CEO last month.
The specific AI model that is causing concern is reportedly called Q* and it is said to have solved certain mathematical problems, potentially indicating that it has greater reasoning capabilities than previously thought.
The Verge asked Altman about the project, to which he said he had “no particular comment on that unfortunate leak.”
