Scientists' calculations show that it will be impossible to control superintelligent AI
![Scientists' calculations show that it will be impossible to control superintelligent AI Scientists' calculations show that it will be impossible to control superintelligent AI](/media/post_big/yuyeung-lau-lr5mTjURI5c-unsplash.jpg)
The idea of overthrowing or enslaving humanity with artificial intelligence has been talked about for decades, and in January 2021, scientists gave their verdict on whether we could control a high-level computer superintelligence. The answer: almost certainly not.
The catch is that to control a superintelligence far beyond human understanding would require a simulation of that superintelligence that we could analyze. But if we are unable to comprehend it, it is impossible to create such a simulation.
Rules such as "do no harm to humans" cannot be established unless we understand the scenarios AI can come up with, the authors of the 2021 paper believe. When a computer system operates at a level beyond the capabilities of our programmers, we can no longer set limits.
"Superintelligence presents a fundamentally different challenge than those typically studied under the banner of 'robot ethics,'" the researchers write. "This is because superintelligence is multifaceted and therefore has the potential to mobilize a variety of resources to achieve goals that are potentially incomprehensible to humans, let alone controllable."
If we are going to advance artificial intelligence, we may not even know when a superintelligence beyond our control will emerge, so incomprehensible it is. That means we need to start asking serious questions about what direction we're headed.
Source: sciencealert, jair
Illustration: Yuyeung Lau