Microsoft’s chief scientist Eric Horvitz has addressed the Elon Musk signed AI pause open letter. Horvitz told Fortune that he respects the tech luminaries who wrote an open letter to press pause on AI development for 6 months, but he believes that the need of the hour is “acceleration”, not a pause.
Microsoft scientist calls AI ban open letter ‘ill defined’
In a statement to Fortune, Horvitz said, “I really actually respect [those that signed the letter]. And I think it's reasonable that people are concerned ... To me, I would prefer to see more knowledge, and even an acceleration of research and development, rather than a pause for six months, which I am not sure if it would even be feasible. It's a very ill-defined request in some ways."
He further added that we need to invest more time in understanding, guiding and regulating the technology instead of pulling breaks. What we need to do is “jump in, instead of pausing.” Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Also Read: 'Why stop?' Bill Gates questions Elon Musk's attempt to pause ChatGPT development
Letter asking for AI regulation
Last month, thousands of tech luminaries including Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and more signed an open letter to pause the development of AI generative tools more powerful than GPT-4 for 6 months. The letter stated that the AI labs were "locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy" the technology without appropriate safety protocols.
More tech luminaries are giving warnings about the potential AI threats if proper guardrails are not put in soon. The ‘GodFather of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton, recently left Google, so that he could speak openly about the threats of AI. He even admitted that he regrets parts of his work with AI. He stated, “I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have.”
Moreover, International Business Machines Corp (IBM) revealed plans on enforcing a hiring freeze for certain positions, as the company expects that an estimated 7,800 jobs within the IT major could be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
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