Margaret Wertheim at Science Goddess:
The writers serve up a heavy dose of fear-mongering: “Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth,” their second sentence declares, “and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources.”
I think everyone on Earth agrees AI will have to be managed with a great deal of care, yet the word “resources” might also ring some alarm bells. What the letter writers are asking for is a lot more funding for centers and programs devoted to “controlling” a problem they suggest is already bordering on a fait acompli, and which most of the authors – as AI researchers themselves – are actively involved in creating. Underlying their ‘concern’ for humanity is an inference that they are the people to get us out of the AI mess. There is a circularity to their argument which needs unpacking and begs the question of who are the people behind this missive?
more here. (h/t Lawrence Weschler)