So if you’ve been following my content, you know I’ve been writing a lot about artificial intelligence. I’ve shown some of the positive and negative developments in this area, and how we should harness this immensely powerful technology for the commonwealth of man; and not exploit its use for evil, the way we historically have with nuclear weaponry.
Why an authoritative declaration is vital
Of course, I’m not the only one saying it. There are many thinkers and innovators who have been advocating for this. In line with that, today’s piece is all about the ethical principles that pundits feel should be programmed into AI, and developed with a clear view in mind moving forward.
I’ve loosely been basing these artificial intelligence articles around an incredible book entitled 2084 written by Professor John Lennox. Therein, he has submitted a number of generally applicable principles surrounding the development and production of such technology.
He has drawn these motions from the so-called Asilomar AI Principles which were drafted at a conference back in 2017 in – you guessed it – Asilomar, California. Apparently, this has been endorsed by over one-thousand AI researchers. Other supporters of it include the late great Stephen Hawking, Jaan Tallinn, and last but predictably not least, Elon Musk.
Before we review it though, why is such a declaration necessary? The answers to that question are subjective, imperfect, variable and relative. But that in no way diminishes its effect. One has only to take a truncated historical view to notice a salient human frailty. It’s this: mankind is foolish and hasty. Especially when we deliberate upon things in groups. Why else does the word deliberate imply persnickety, tediousness…meticulosity? Because it’s patient and omniscient. And that’s not really in our nature.
The rate at which we typically address the ethical concerns of technological progress will be our undoing. Brinksmanship and a lack of due care has brought us to the lip of extinction repeatedly. We can’t afford to repeat such folly!
Declarations of this magnitude are necessarily lofty and out of reach. That’s why they’re necessary. Without a vision and an iron-clad commitment, we are destined to fall far shorter of them had we espoused such ideals in the first place.
The principia Professor Lennox includes in his book is a collection of Asilomar’s most salient features. And here they are.
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