AI considers its future - 5th April 2023

An artificial intelligence (AI) themed art installation in San Francisco has sought to raise awareness about AI's potential whilst enhancing humanity's future. The art installation titled 'Misalignment Museum,' seeks to be thought provoking, according to curator Audrey Kim, who tells us more.

Audrey Kim: "For this space, it's really trying to create a means for people to approach the tech and reflect on it and see it at different angles. I also think it's, you know, it's really, it is a really, it's a really amazing technology. It's also really terrifying. It, it, it has potential for both good and bad. And so I want to create a space where we can be in a mindspace to be open to both."

The exhibition's opening coincides with prominent AI advocates urging AI companies to halt any further development of AI temporarily for 6 months. These voices include the likes of Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak.

In a bid to make AI safe, the Future of Life Institute released an open letter entitled 'Pause Giant AI Experiments' signed by Musk, Wozniak and others. They've urged AI training companies to pause any work training systems more advanced than the current GPT-4. They're advocating for companies to use a 6 month period to establish universal ground rules for AI.

Director of the University of Montreal's Institute for Learning Algorithms, Yoshua Bengio cautioned that "We've reached the point where these systems are smart enough that they can be used in ways that are dangerous for society."

Meanwhile, Audrey Kim's 'Misalignment Museum' exhibition in San Francisco presents a post-apocalyptic world overrun by AI.

Audrey Kim: "It is in a post-apocalyptic world where an artificial general intelligence, AGI, has already destroyed most of humanity, and has realised that that was bad, and then created this space as a type of memorial for the humans. So, our tagline is 'Sorry for killing most of humanity.'"

As AI becomes the new normal in our online interactions, whether through apps, on computers or consuming AI generated art, and given the recent stance taken by tech experts - should we be more wary?