Last June, Emmett Shear, new boss of OpenAI, worried about the potential of AI, fearing that it could destroy the entire universe.
Two AIs, represented by robots, confront each other // Source: Image created by Aroged with Midjourney
Since last week, episodes have multiplied around OpenAI. After dismissing the structure’s CEO, Sam Altman, the board of directors finally decided to appoint Emmett Shear, former boss of Twitch, in his place.
Since his appointment as head of OpenAI, however, some of his previous statements around artificial intelligence have emerged again. This is particularly the case of his intervention in the podcast The Logan Bartlett Show, last June. On this occasion, Emmett Shear was invited to comment on the role of artificial intelligence in the years to come and the potential risks it could bring.
However, for the new leader of OpenAI, AI presents nothing less than the risk of apocalypse for the entire universe.
Emmett Shear, the new CEO of OpenAI on a recent podcast.pic.twitter.com/6LGEOinn7r
— Rowan Cheung (@rowancheung) November 20, 2023
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His fear actually comes from the moment when generative AI will be sufficiently advanced that it could become a general AI and that it will then be able to create new artificial intelligences itself without going through human control:
I have a very specific concern about AI. We have designed an intelligence, it’s fantastic. It may not be the finest intelligence, but it is intelligence. She can solve problems and make plans. At some point, as it improves, the problems we can solve will include programming, chip design, materials science, power generation… all the things we would need to design artificial intelligence.
A general AI that could lead to the apocalypse of the universe
For the new leader of OpenAI, “this type of intelligence is intrinsically very dangerous, because intelligence is power. Human beings are the dominant life form on this planet almost solely because we are more intelligent than other creatures.” While Emmett Shear considers himself a “techno-optimist” person, he fears that AI will be a major problem in the coming years, and he doesn’t take it lightly.
The extinction of humanity would be bad enough. This would be a potential destruction of the entire light cone. Not just for us, but for any alien species caught in the blast field. It’s a bomb capable of destroying the universe.
In other words, according to Emmett Shear, the advancement of AI “should make you shit yourself.”
Since his appointment as head of OpenAI, Emmett Shear has been particularly criticized. While 90% of the organization’s 700 employees are demanding the resignation of the board of directors and the return of Sam Altman at its head, Emmet Shear’s speech in front of these same employees was shunned, the employees having refused to attend. According to information from the site The Verge, they also responded to the announcement of his appointment, on the OpenAI messaging service, with a “fuck you” emoji.
