Video 1: Can we build AI without losing control over it? I
I'm going to talk about a failure of intuition that many of us suffer from.
It's really a failure to detect a certain kind of danger.
I'm going to describe a scenario that I think is both terrifying and likely to occur,
and that's not a good combination, as it turns out.
And yet rather than be scared, most of you will feel that what I'm talking about is kind of cool.
I'm going to describe how the gains we make in artificial intelligence could ultimately destroy us.
And in fact, I think it's very difficult to see how they won't destroy us or inspire us to destroy ourselves.
And yet if you're anything like me, you'll find that it's fun to think about these things.
And that response is part of the problem. OK? That response should worry you.
And if I were to convince you in this talk that we were likely to suffer a global famine, either because of climate change or some other catastrophe,
and that your grandchildren, or their grandchildren, are very likely to live like this, you wouldn't think, "Interesting. I like this TED Talk."
Famine isn't fun. Death by science fiction, on the other hand, is fun,
and one of the things that worries me most about the development of AI at this point is that we seem unable to marshal
an appropriate emotional response to the dangers that lie ahead.
I am unable to marshal this response, and I'm giving this talk.
