Historian and author Yuval Noah Harari is one of those who is very vocal about the threats of AI. The celebrated author has once again expressed his opinion and said AI is capable enough to enslave and destroy humanity.
“As for the threat of AI, whereas 10 years ago it was still a science fiction scenario that interested only a very small community of experts, it is now already upending our economy, our culture, and our politics. Within a few more years, AI could escape our control and either enslave or annihilate us,”
Harari said during his presentation at a recent panel discussion hosted by Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) and King’s College, University of Cambridge.
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The 48-year-old Israili author said that today human race is facing many problems. He talked about three problems that can be a serious threat to human existence. These are – ecological collapse and tech disruptions at the core of which is Artificial Intelligence and global war.
He also said that two of these threats are a present reality and happening around us today. Harari said every year many species are going extinct, damaging our ecological system. “We might be just a few years away from crossing critical thresholds that could put human civilization at risk of extinction.”
Regarding rapid developments in AI, the author said that AI is now in amoeba phase. He said it took billions of years for amoeba to reach dinosaur stage. But AI is not organic and digital evolution is million times faster than organic evolution. According to him, digital evolution will reach T-REX stage within a few decades.
Though the future of AI is uncertain, the author believes that there exists certain models and arguments that will eventually translate AI into conscious or sentient. He warned that they will not stop after just destroying the human civilization. They will destroy the very light of consciousness. The author thinks AI will perhaps change the entire ecological system according to their needs where consciousness is not required.
As a remedy to this Harari suggests not to anticipate what dangers AI will create for us. “What we need is to build regulatory institutions that are living institutions that can understand and react to things as they develop.
The popular author also raised the threats of wars and said that he is not a believer in historical determinism. “For a few more years before potential AI takeover, war and peace are still human choices. Rarely are wars fought over objective needs like food or territory, but over historical and mythological narratives we invent and believe,” he said.
