AP, Washington :
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told radio host Hugh Hewitt that humanity is “racing headfirst into a new era of artificial intelligence” without sufficient preparations of how that will impact the world.
“Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, a lot of really smart people are sounding an alarm that we’re not hearing,” Clinton said in an interview promoting her new book. “And their alarm is artificial intelligence is not our friend. It can assist us in many ways if it is properly understood and contained. But we are racing headfirst into a new era of artificial intelligence that is going to have dramatic effects on how we live, how we think, how we relate to each other.”
Artifical intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processes – such as learning, reasoning, and self-correction – by machines. The technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, leading to innovations including smart home assistants and automated stock trading. At the same time, the evolution of AI has led to fears that AI could eventually surpass human understanding and upend societies.
Contrary to Clinton’s claim, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates hasn’t actually said that “artificial intelligence is not our friend.” In the foreword of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s book, Gates wrote that “AI is on the verge of making our lives more productive and creative” while also highlighting inherent challenges: “How do we help people whose jobs are replaced by AI agents and robots? Will users trust their AI agent with all their information?”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is perhaps the most apocalyptic voice when it comes to AI, asserting that the technology poses a “fundamental risk to the existence of civilization” and is the most likely cause for World War III.
Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is ambiguous on AI, recently stating that creating effective AI “could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. We just don’t know. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped by AI, or ignored by it and side-lined, or conceivably destroyed by it.”Speaking to Hewitt, Clinton highlighted the potential negative consequences of integrating AI into society.
