Essay by Eric Worrall
The red flag – the people hyping the AI apocalypse are mostly the same people who promised us a climate crisis for all these years.
Hope for an AI doomer: ‘Laudato Si’ ‘ predicted today’s technology threats
April 4, 2024
BY SCOTT HURD
View Author ProfileI am a major league catastrophizer. I have an uncanny and unsettling tendency to anticipate disaster at every turn. I see glasses half-empty, plan vacations with detailed spreadsheets and arrive at my departure gate two hours early. Risk management is my superpower. If you or your organization need someone to forecast worst-case scenarios, I am happy to help, and I charge on a sliding scale.
It should come as no surprise, then, that I am an “AI doomer” — I see generative artificial intelligence as an existential threat, in spite of the saturation-level hype surrounding its potential. And I am not alone.
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There are good reasons to be concerned, if today’s headlines are to be believed. Because according to certain experts, we’ll all either end up worshiping robots, be annihilated by robots, become unemployed by robots or be fused with robots until our consciousnesses are uploaded into the cloud.
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I’ve been finding solace and encouragement, however, in Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical addressing another existential threat: climate change. “The work of the Church,” Francis insists, quoting Benedict XVI, is to “protect mankind from self-destruction.”
And Francis’ proposals to do this can easily be applied to AI, because climate change and AI present strikingly similar dangers involving power concentrated in the hands of a few, and multinational companies. They create what Francis calls a “technocratic paradigm” in which “life gradually becomes a surrender to situations conditioned by technology, itself viewed as the principal key to the meaning of existence.”
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Hollywood artists are also horrified human performers will shortly become surplus to requirements, that soon we might not need to put up with their political posturing and far left green hypocrisy.
Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Camila Cabello Sign Open Letter Warning About AI Threat to Artists
Around 200 artists, including Sam Smith, HYBE, Jon Bon Jovi and Norah Jones, raised an alarm on artificial intelligence producing vocal “copycats” that threaten to replace popular artists and creators.
BY ETAN VLESSING
APRIL 2, 2024 7:44AMThe Artists Rights Alliance, backed by around 200 music artists including Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and Camila Cabello, has released an open letter calling on digital music developers to “cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”
The campaign raised the alarm on the the use of musical works by AI developers that without permission train and produce AI “copycats,” or use AI “sound” to dilute royalty obligations. Their intervention came as the threat from AI to creators, and its value to tech giants, is an increasing focus for the legal and pop music fields.
“Working musicians are already struggling to make ends meet in the streaming world, and now they have the added burden of trying to compete with a deluge of AI-generated noise. The unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem — for artists and fans alike,” Jen Jacobsen, executive director of the ARA, said in a statement.
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Microsoft has issued a warning that China is trying to influence elections in the USA and elsewhere using AI.
China tests US voter fault lines and ramps AI content to boost its geopolitical interests
Apr 4, 2024 | Clint Watts – General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center
China is using fake social media accounts to poll voters on what divides them most to sow division and possibly influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in its favor. China has also increased its use of AI-generated content to further its goals around the world. North Korea has increased its cryptocurrency heists and supply chain attacks to fund and further its military goals and intelligence collection. It has also begun to use AI to make its operations more effective and efficient.
These are among the Microsoft Threat Intelligence insights in the latest East Asia report published today by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) – Same targets, new playbooks: East Asia threat actors employ unique methods.
Three key findings emerge in the report:
Deceptive social media accounts by Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated actors have started to pose contentious questions on controversial U.S. domestic issues to better understand the key issues that divide U.S. voters. This could be to gather intelligence and precision on key voting demographics ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
There has been an increased use of Chinese AI-generated content in recent months, attempting to influence and sow division in the U.S. and elsewhere on a range of topics including: the train derailment in Kentucky in November 2023, the Maui wildfires in August 2023, the disposal of Japanese nuclear wastewater, drug use in the U.S. as well as immigration policies and racial tensions in the country. There is little evidence these efforts have been successful in swaying opinion.
China’s geopolitical priorities remain unchanged but it has doubled down on its targets and increased the sophistication of its influence operations (IO) attacks. These priorities are:
- The South Pacific islands
- The South China Sea region
- The U.S. defense industrial base
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AIs are also increasingly being used to produce kill lists and guide increasingly sophisticated weapons – I leave it to readers to search out those stories.
Times tells us AI poses an extinction level threat;
Exclusive: U.S. Must Move ‘Decisively’ to Avert ‘Extinction-Level’ Threat From AI, Government-Commissioned Report Says
MARCH 11, 2024 9:00 AM EDT
The U.S. government must move “quickly and decisively” to avert substantial national security risks stemming from artificial intelligence (AI) which could, in the worst case, cause an “extinction-level threat to the human species,” says a report commissioned by the U.S. government published on Monday.
“Current frontier AI development poses urgent and growing risks to national security,” the report, which TIME obtained ahead of its publication, says. “The rise of advanced AI and AGI [artificial general intelligence] has the potential to destabilize global security in ways reminiscent of the introduction of nuclear weapons.” AGI is a hypothetical technology that could perform most tasks at or above the level of a human. Such systems do not currently exist, but the leading AI labs are working toward them and many expect AGI to arrive within the next five years or less.
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Read more: https://time.com/6898967/ai-extinction-national-security-risks-report/
George Soros warned us in 2023 that AI is a bigger threat than climate change;
Why is AI suddenly such a big deal?
As I have long predicted, AI is the perfect drop in replacement for the climate scare. In fact the AI threat is better – unlike the climate scare, AI scares have bipartisan appeal.
Biden has promised to clamp down on this high priority threat.
FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence
Today, President Biden is issuing a landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more.
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive strategy for responsible innovation, the Executive Order builds on previous actions the President has taken, including work that led to voluntary commitments from 15 leading companies to drive safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI.
The Executive Order directs the following actions:
New Standards for AI Safety and Security
As AI’s capabilities grow, so do its implications for Americans’ safety and security. With this Executive Order, the President directs the most sweeping actions ever taken to protect Americans from the potential risks of AI systems:
- Require that developers of the most powerful AI systems share their safety test results and other critical information with the U.S. government. In accordance with the Defense Production Act, the Order will require that companies developing any foundation model that poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety must notify the federal government when training the model, and must share the results of all red-team safety tests. These measures will ensure AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy before companies make them public.
- Develop standards, tools, and tests to help ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will set the rigorous standards for extensive red-team testing to ensure safety before public release. The Department of Homeland Security will apply those standards to critical infrastructure sectors and establish the AI Safety and Security Board. The Departments of Energy and Homeland Security will also address AI systems’ threats to critical infrastructure, as well as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity risks. Together, these are the most significant actions ever taken by any government to advance the field of AI safety.
- Protect against the risks of using AI to engineer dangerous biological materials by developing strong new standards for biological synthesis screening. Agencies that fund life-science projects will establish these standards as a condition of federal funding, creating powerful incentives to ensure appropriate screening and manage risks potentially made worse by AI.
- Protect Americans from AI-enabled fraud and deception by establishing standards and best practices for detecting AI-generated content and authenticating official content. The Department of Commerce will develop guidance for content authentication and watermarking to clearly label AI-generated content. Federal agencies will use these tools to make it easy for Americans to know that the communications they receive from their government are authentic—and set an example for the private sector and governments around the world.
- Establish an advanced cybersecurity program to develop AI tools to find and fix vulnerabilities in critical software, building on the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing AI Cyber Challenge. Together, these efforts will harness AI’s potentially game-changing cyber capabilities to make software and networks more secure.
- Order the development of a National Security Memorandum that directs further actions on AI and security, to be developed by the National Security Council and White House Chief of Staff. This document will ensure that the United States military and intelligence community use AI safely, ethically, and effectively in their missions, and will direct actions to counter adversaries’ military use of AI.
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The UN recently acted to contain the AI threat;
UN approves its first resolution on artificial intelligence
The UN General Assembly has called for a set of international guidelines to address the risks and benefits of AI.
The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence to encourage the protection of personal data, the monitoring of AI for risks, and the safeguarding of human rights.
The resolution, sponsored by the United States and co-sponsored by 123 countries, was adopted by consensus with a bang of the gavel and without a vote on Thursday, meaning it has the support of all 193 UN member nations.
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And the EU is deeply concerned about unregulated artificial intelligence;
Artificial Intelligence Act: deal on comprehensive rules for trustworthy AI
09-12-2023 – 00:04
- Safeguards agreed on general purpose artificial intelligence
- Limitation for the of use biometric identification systems by law enforcement
- Bans on social scoring and AI used to manipulate or exploit user vulnerabilities
- Right of consumers to launch complaints and receive meaningful explanations
- Fines ranging from 35 million euro or 7% of global turnover to 7.5 million or 1.5% of turnover
MEPs reached a political deal with the Council on a bill to ensure AI in Europe is safe, respects fundamental rights and democracy, while businesses can thrive and expand.
On Friday, Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act. This regulation aims to ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability are protected from high risk AI, while boosting innovation and making Europe a leader in the field. The rules establish obligations for AI based on its potential risks and level of impact.
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Why do I think the fake AI threat is all hype?
Does this AI frighten you?
Feeling scared yet? How about this AI, which generates fake climate psychology papers?
Artificial intelligences are tools. At their current state of development, and for the plausibly foreseeable future, claiming artificial intelligence is a threat to our existence is like claiming your toaster or your screwdriver is a threat to our existence.
Military AIs are scary – but so are ICBMs and helicopters with machine guns.
As threats arise, countermeasures will be developed, in much the same way as computer viruses are countered by anti-virus packages. The chances of a single nation or group being in a position to threaten the entire world with their AI breakthrough is insignificant – about the same as a single nation or group being in a position to threaten the entire world with an apocalypse computer virus. Great plot for a thriller movie, but utterly unrealistic.
If you are still unconvinced the AI threat is all hype, the real red flag should be, the people who are hyping the imaginary AI threat are mostly the same clowns who hype the climate threat.
AI in my opinion is what Covid is what climate is what all the previous fake scare stories have been and always will be – a useful political prop to stampede voters into undermining their own freedom and prosperity.
via Watts Up With That?
April 6, 2024 at 12:01PM
Iowa Climate Science Education 