More and more areas of human life are being influenced and regulated by artificial intelligence (AI) applications. A veritable arms race is taking place worldwide in the field of AI. Many scientists agree that unregulated AI poses great dangers to humanity. Calls for regulation of AI applications are therefore growing louder.
Scenarizing an AI apocalypse:
To describe such a catastrophe, most still lack the imagination. Anyone who asks scientists about this topic receives only vague answers. They speak of three possible scenarios:
1. AI systems one day acquire consciousness, similar to human consciousness. At that point, they would already be far superior to humans, so it would be easy for them to outsmart human intelligence. They would prevent attempts to shut them down from the start.
2. in a second scenario, computer-controlled AI weapons would be used to destroy system-relevant infrastructures of entire continents. A cyber war would ensue in which AI systems could easily develop biological and synthetic warfare agents. The effects would be far worse than nuclear weapons.
The third doomsday scenario is also not very reassuring. According to this, AI-controlled systems would spread fake news, fake videos and photos, thus generating extreme hatred and unrest in societies. Civil war-like conditions would ensue, which would ultimately also destroy civilization. Triggered by AI, man would destroy himself.
Regardless of whether one believes that one of these scenarios will occur or not, the speed at which AI technology is developing is frightening in any case. The AI applications that will already be freely available in the summer of 2023 are capable of training themselves and can communicate with each other. They learn from each other and will soon be significantly superior to human intelligence. Stopping AI systems is only possible if there is global agreement on regulating and outlawing AI weapons systems. All nations would have to agree to control each other.
What is an AI apocalypse? Explanation, meaning, definition
The AI apocalypse is a future scenario in which humans are replaced by artificial intelligences and lose their influence on Earth. However, there is a great deal of disagreement about the likelihood of whether and when this scenario will occur. Moreover, there are hardly any models on how to regulate artificial intelligence. Security companies have also long been talking about the fact that there is a high risk of humanity being annihilated by AI and that politicians need to act immediately. This issue should take priority over scenarios of possible nuclear war or new pandemics, they say.
Such warnings and appeals to policymakers have increased in recent years. While initially rather insignificant figures in society took a stand on this, it is now leading minds in companies that are developing AI systems. It has even gotten to the point where experts are warning against their own developments. One of the skeptics who is getting a big hearing is Sam Altman, chief executive of Open AI.
In a 2022 statement, he talks about how the software chat GPT is currently making a splash has led to an arms race unlike any other. Something like this had never happened before in Silicon Valley, he said. Back in 2015, Elon Musk, head of Tesla and Space X, warned that AI had the potential to become more dangerous than nuclear bombs. What was taken less seriously at the time is now also considered very realistic by leading scientists. They see the greatest danger in the fact that AI can no longer be controlled and could wipe out humanity. Some talk about the danger of humanity being wiped out by misguided AI systems being a million times greater than hitting six numbers in the lottery. That’s why they are pushing for rapid regulation of AI systems by policymakers.