Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian At the core of AI safety, lies the value alignment problem: how can we teach artificial intelligence systems to act in accordance with human goals and values? Many researchers interact with AI systems to teach them human values, using techniques like inverse reinforcement learning (IRL). In […]
Some of the greatest scientists and inventors of the future are sitting in high school classrooms right now, breezing through calculus and eagerly awaiting freshman year at the world’s top universities. They may have already won Math Olympiads or invented clever, new internet applications. We know these students are smart, but are they prepared to […]
Earlier this month, the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons (UN CCW) Group of Governmental Experts met in Geneva to discuss the future of lethal autonomous weapons systems. But before we get to that, here’s a quick recap of everything that’s happened in the last six months. Since its release in November 2017, the […]
Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian When training image detectors, AI researchers can’t replicate the real world. They teach systems what to expect by feeding them training data, such as photographs, computer-generated images, real video and simulated video, but these practice environments can never capture the messiness of the physical world. In […]
Artificial intelligence poses a myriad of risks to humanity. From privacy concerns, to algorithmic bias and “black box” decision making, to broader questions of value alignment, recursive self-improvement, and existential risk from superintelligence — there’s no shortage of AI safety issues. AI safety research aims to address all of these concerns. But with limited […]
Scientists know that the planet is warming, that humans are causing it, and that we’re running out of time to avoid catastrophic climate change. But at the same time, their estimates for future global warming can seem frustratingly vague — best-case scenarios allow decades to solve the energy crisis, while worst-case scenarios seem utterly hopeless, […]
On Thursday, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists inched their iconic Doomsday Clock forward another thirty seconds. It is now two minutes to midnight. Citing the growing threats of climate change, increasing tensions between nuclear-armed countries, and a general loss of trust in government institutions, the Bulletin warned that we are “making the world security situation […]
In 1992, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences penned the “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.” Pointing to growing problems like ocean dead zones, biodiversity destruction, climate change, and continued human population growth, the scientists argued that “a great change in our stewardship of the Earth and the […]
Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian London, UK – On October 27, 1962, a soft-spoken naval officer named Vasili Arkhipov single-handedly prevented nuclear war during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Arkhipov’s submarine captain, thinking their sub was under attack by American forces, wanted to launch a nuclear weapon at […]
As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, programmers will expect to talk to computers like they talk to humans. Instead of typing out long, complex code, we’ll communicate with AI systems using natural language. With a current model called “program synthesis,” humans can get computers to write code for them by giving them examples and demonstrations […]
Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian AI promises a smarter world – a world where finance algorithms analyze data better than humans, self-driving cars save millions of lives from accidents, and medical robots eradicate disease. But machines aren’t perfect. Whether an automated trading agent buys the wrong stock, a self-driving car hits […]
Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian The million-dollar question in AI circles is: When? When will artificial intelligence become so smart and capable that it surpasses human beings at every task? AI is already visible in the world through job automation, algorithmic financial trading, self-driving cars and household assistants like Alexa, but […]
“The future of work is now,” says Moshe Vardi. “The impact of technology on labor has become clearer and clearer by the day.” Machines have already automated millions of routine, working-class jobs in manufacturing. And now, AI is learning to automate non-routine jobs in transportation and logistics, legal writing, financial services, administrative support, and healthcare. […]
Even though human drivers don’t consciously think in terms of probabilities, we observe our environment and make decisions based on the likelihood of certain things happening. A driver doesn’t calculate the probability that the sports car behind her will pass her, but through observing the car’s behavior and considering similar situations in the past, she […]
Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian Automated algorithms currently manage over half of trading volume in US equities, and as AI improves, it will continue to assume control over important financial decisions. But these systems aren’t foolproof. A small glitch could send shares plunging, potentially costing investors billions of dollars. For firms, […]
Is the world more dangerous than ever? Today in Washington, D.C, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced its decision to move the infamous Doomsday Clock thirty seconds closer to doom: It is now two and a half minutes to midnight. Each year since 1947, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has publicized the symbol of the […]
Artificial intelligence may seem like a computer science project, but if it’s going to successfully integrate with society, then social scientists must be more involved. Developing an intelligent machine is not merely a problem of modifying algorithms in a lab. These machines must be aligned with human values, and this requires a deep understanding of […]
What are the greatest problems of our time? And how can we best address them? FLI’s Lucas Perry recently spoke at Duke University and Boston College to address these questions. Perry presented two major ideas in these talks – effective altruism and existential risk – and explained how they work together. As Perry explained to […]
Click here to see this page in other languages: Chinese Consider the following wartime scenario: Hoping to spare the lives of soldiers, a country deploys an autonomous weapon to wipe out an enemy force. This robot has demonstrated military capabilities that far exceed even the best soldiers, but when it hits the ground, it gets […]
When it comes to cybersecurity, no nation can afford to slack off. If a nation’s defense systems cannot anticipate how an attacker will try to fool them, then an especially clever attack could expose military secrets or use disguised malware to cause major networks to crash. A nation’s defense systems must keep up with the […]