Prominent Technology Executives and Academics Call for Six-Month Pause on Large, Open Experiments with Artificial Intelligence

A group of prominent technology industry executives and academics have signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on large, open experiments with artificial intelligence (AI). The letter, posted on the website of Future of Life Institute (FLI), a non-profit, was signed by notable figures such as Yoshua Bengio, Steve Wozniak, Yuval Harari, Elon Musk, and Gary Marcus.

The letter states that companies researching AI are “locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict, or reliably control.” It goes on to say that contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and that “should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us?”

The signatories of the letter are calling for a pause on large, open experiments with AI, and if such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, they are asking governments to step in and institute a moratorium. They are also calling on AI labs to temporarily pause training powerful models, and for decisions about the development of AI to not be delegated to unelected tech leaders.

The FLI, which is backed by Musk, previously stated in a 2015 open letter that they supported development of AI to benefit society. However, the signatories of the current letter are now asking the question, “should we risk loss of control of our civilization?”

The open letter has been signed by over a thousand people, and the signatories are calling on others to join their call. The letter is a reminder of the potential risks of AI, and the need to exercise caution in its development.