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Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), claimed during a Q&A recent session on Reddit that AI safety is a domain where serious work has to be done.
Future of Life Institute is a nonprofit organization that was given $10 million by Musk in order to develop a research program on a global scale to ensure that artificial intelligence will be used with cautious and for the advantage of humanity.
Stephen Hawking as well as Elon Musk joined hundreds of intellectuals and scientists to sign an open letter released by Future of Life Institute. Among those important scientists are David Parkes, one of the top professors of computer science at Harvard University and Peter Norvig, the director of research from Google.
In the letter they outline significant recommendations about the direction research should go on. The letter stated that the benefits of research in artificial intelligence for mankind can be huge. Civilization could end poverty and disease through AI. Also, research has to be done to maximize the benefits and to avoid potential pitfalls.
A top priority for the research is the need to stay in control of machines that have artificial intelligence. In the letter it is underlined that “systems must do what we want them to do.” The ethical problem arises when autonomous weapons are the subject of the discussion. Intelligent machines that are capable to kill should remain under full control of humans. In a previous statement professor Stephen Hawking warned that the human race could become extinct if we don’t fully control artificial intelligence.
The amount Musk has donated to the Future of Life Institute will provide grants to researchers of artificial intelligence in many disciplines like ethics, law, economics and policy. Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of DeepMind Technologies, a company from Great Britain owned by Google since last year, pointed in a press release that new applications are opened up by important advances in the AI. He added that a great deal of responsibility comes with these newfound powers. He claimed that as new technologies walk on the path of progress, the AI will have an enormous impact on civilization.
Deep learning is a field related to artificial intelligence in which Google and Facebook have invested for the past two years.
Image Source: CBS News
