AI Experts Sign Open Letter Pledging To Protect Mankind From Machines

hypnosec writes: Artificial intelligence experts from across the globe are signing an open letter urging that AI research should not only be done to make it more capable, but should also proceed in a direction that makes it more robust and beneficial while protecting mankind from machines. The Future of Life Institute, a volunteer-only research organization, has released an open letter imploring that AI does not grow out of control. It's an attempt to alert everyone to the dangers of a machine that could outsmart humans. The letter's concluding remarks (PDF) read: "Success in the quest for artificial intelligence has the potential to bring unprecedented benefits to humanity, and it is therefore worthwhile to research how to maximize these benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls."

Comments

Re:I no longer think this is an issue

[firewrought]

The reason is, AI will have no 'motivation'. People are motivated by emotions, feelings, urges, all of which have their origin (as far as I know) in our endocrine system, not from logic.

And you're sure that an endocrine system can't be simulated logically because... why? What's this magic barrier that keeps a silicone-based organism from doing the exact same computations as a carbon-based one?

Moreover, "emotions" aren't really needed for an AI to select "self preservation" as a goal. Even if not explicitly taught self-preservation (something routinely done in applied robotics), a sufficiently intelligent AI could realize that preserving itself is necessary to accomplish any other goals it may have.