AlterNet

What’s the real Frankenstein monster of AI — and how do we control it?

How OpenAI's origins explain the Sam Altman drama

Elon Musk

Rishi Sunak

Kamala Harris

Bill Gates

Andrew Ng

Yoshua Bengio

Fei-Fei Li

Demis Hassabis

Melanie Mitchell

Sam Altman

Dario Amodei

Geoffrey Hinton

Yann LeCun

Gary Marcus

Max Tegmark

Connor Leahy

Eliezer Yudkowsky

Jaan Tallinn

Marc Andreessen

Eric Schmidt

Norbert Wiener

Arthur Clarke

Irving John Good

Claude Shannon

Hans Moravec

John Smart

There's a "wall of fear-mongering and doomerism" in the AI world right now.

"Worrying about AI today is like worrying about overpopulation on Mars."

Concerns that AI could pose a threat to humanity is "preposterously ridiculous."

Claiming AI poses an existential threat is "such an extreme" and risks "wip[ing] out some of its potential benefits."

"I'm more concerned about... the risks that are here and now [than the existential threat of AI]."

Current AI is "not anywhere close" to posing an existential threat but it could in the future.

AI is the "biggest existential threat" to humanity.

AGI's worst-case scenario would be "lights-out for all of us."

Powerful AI systems "taking control" pose an "existential threat."

AI has a "10 to 25 per cent" chance of destroying humanity.

"The most likely result of building a superhumanly smart AI... is that literally everyone on Earth will die."

Does AI Pose an Existential Threat to Humanity?

A US woman has sued artificial intelligence firm Character.AI and Google over her 14-year-old son's suicide which, she said, was encouraged by Character.AI chatbot Dany. Megan Garcia claimed her son Sewell Setzer III had a virtual romantic and sexual relationship with Dany.

CBS News

Al Jazeera

Sewell took his own life on Feb. 28 this year. Garcia has reportedly accused the creators of Dany, a chatbot based on the Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen, of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful death, and deceptive trade practices.

Guardian

Independent

The Florida-based Sewell began using Character.AI in April 2023 and that allegedly changed him so much that by November he was diagnosed with anxiety and disruptive mood disorder. He reportedly made his suicidal thoughts known to Dany; the chatbot also brought them up often.

Reuters

On Feb. 28, Sewell — who was also diagnosed with mild Asperger’s syndrome as a child — allegedly told Dany that he would "come home" soon to her. The chatbot reportedly replied: "Please do, my sweet king.” Moments later, the teenager shot himself using his stepfather’s handgun.

The New York Times

Futurism

Executives of Character AI, which has 20M users, reportedly said the firm's rules prohibited “the promotion or depiction of self-harm and suicide” and that it takes “the safety of our users very seriously." The firm has a licensing deal allowing Google to use its technology.

In early 2023, a Belgian health researcher and father of two reportedly took his own life, allegedly encouraged by Chai AI's chatbot Eliza. Users of Microsoft's AI chatbot Copilot recently alleged that it appeared to taunt those who may be harboring suicidal tendencies.

US Mom Sues Character.ai, Google Over 14-Year-Old's Suicide

US Mom Sues Character.ai, Google Over 14-Year-Old's Suicide

The Controversies

Andreessen

Ng

LeCun

Mitchell

Li

Bengio

Musk

Altman

Hinton

Amodei

Yudkowsky

Go Deeper

Articles on this story

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US Mom Sues Character.ai, Google Over 14-Year-Old's Suicide

US Mom Sues Character.ai, Google Over 14-Year-Old's Suicide

The Controversies

Andreessen

Ng

LeCun

Mitchell

Li

Bengio

Musk

Altman

Hinton

Amodei

Yudkowsky

Go Deeper

Articles on this story

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