I recently saw a CNN segment that would be darkly comical if its implications weren’t so incredibly frightening. In the segment, a CNN anchor was interviewing an artificial intelligence (AI) expert and essentially posed the question, “Will artificial intelligence wipe out humanity in the next five years?” The AI expert, without missing a beat, responded with something to the effect of, “No, I think that’s far too aggressive a timeline; there are still so many kinks to be ironed out. If anything, we’re looking at a much longer timeline than that.” With a completely straight face, the anchor responded, “Well, that’s a relief to hear it won’t happen that soon.” Without context, that sounds like material from an absurdist comedy sketch. However, the exchange illustrates how foreboding much of the general consensus is around AI and, given how larger societal forces tend to play out, how helpless even those closest to its development seem in preventing its potential worst outcomes or excesses. Another maddening aspect around the discussion of AI is that there seems to be such a variety of opinions that no consensus can remotely be reached on how to regulate it or rein it in. For every expert who is saying to pump the brakes on the panic and doomsday scenarios, there is another expert saying that doomsday scenarios are well within the realm of possibility and, in fact, likely. It’s a topic that seems to engender intellectual whiplash, even among those most intimately acquainted with the matter. In a survey of top CEOs by Yale’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute, 34% of respondents said AI could “destroy humanity” within 10 years, while 58% said they didn’t think the potential catastrophe of AI was overstated. Early in June 2023, a group of influential tech leaders, business leaders and scientists signed an open letter urging a six-month pause on advanced AI development. This is contrasted by the less alarmist views of tech billionaires such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen. Notably, Zuckerberg has employed the “godfather of AI” Yan Lecun as Meta’s Chief AI Scientist. Any way one slices it, there is a distinctly foreboding feeling that surrounds artificial intelligence, and the meager assurances of a few tech billionaires are certainly cold comfort for the vast majority of people. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THE POINT OF NO RETURN? By Mark Anderson, NMBA Legal and Legislative Assistant 18
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