'AI Safety Clock' Launches
The Facts
Last month, the IMD Business School launched its AI Safety Clock with the goal of "mak[ing] clear that the dangers of uncontrolled AGI [artificial general intelligence] are real and present," according to its creator, IMD professor Michael Wade.
The clock, which currently sits at 29 minutes to midnight, claims to monitor three key factors — AI sophistication, autonomy, and physical integration. These are monitored via information from over 1K websites and nearly 3.5K news feeds.
The Spin
Narrative A
The AI Safety Clock is a symbolic attempt to highlight the urgent need for domestic and international actors alike to wake up and acknowledge the real risks the new technology poses to the world. Nations must act now to ensure AI is aligned with our goals so that we can reap the multitude of benefits and avoid disaster.
Narrative B
This initiative is yet another example of sensationalist AI doomerism. Unlike the Doomsday Clock, IMD's AI Safety Clock has little scientific merit. Such fearmongering over a hypothetical future AI catastrophe only serves to distract from real, current AI challenges like resource consumption, labor exploitation, and algorithmic bias.
