Artificial Intelligence: The Resonant Call for Caution from Yudkowsky and Soares

In their provocative new work "If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies," Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares urgently warn of the potentially catastrophic consequences that a superior, human-surpassing intelligence could have for humanity. The authors depict a scenario where mere survival is questioned, should a too powerful AI go out of control. This grim prognosis describes developments in the technology sector as a "suicide race," driven less by evil intent and more by incompetence. The book encounters an already divided AI community. "AI-Doomers" fear that without drastic measures, progress could inevitably lead to annihilation, while proponents of acceleration point to the great benefits in science and medicine. A decade after Nick Bostrom's groundbreaking considerations on superintelligence, Yudkowsky and Soares refine this overarching warning call. Critics argue that the fixation on apocalyptic scenarios distracts from already existing problems like bias, surveillance, and unemployment. Various high-profile AIs and platforms have provided insightful comments on the book. OpenAI’s ChatGPT sees it as a valuable tool for shifting perspectives, even if the worst-case scenario is dismissed as exaggerated. Meta AI emphasizes the importance of the discussion on international collaboration, while Google’s Gemini describes the reading as terrifying but enlightening, even if the proposed solutions seem impossible. Anthropic’s Claude expresses skepticism towards the authors' exaggerated portrayal, while Elon Musk’s Grok labels the work as "Doomer porn," suggesting it aims more to attract attention than to realistically warn. These differentiated views highlight the deep fault lines in the discourse on Artificial Intelligence and underscore the urgency of a responsible approach.