Six years have passed since the world lost its renowned physics luminary, Professor Stephen Hawking, in 2018. He was well aware of the potential perils associated with advanced generative AI.
Back in a time when ChatGPT and automated systems weren't the commonplace tools they are today, completing tasks wasn't as straightforward.
But does the hype match the reality?
Many people speculate that the advancement of AI might lead us to scenarios reminiscent of the movie I, Robot, particularly in professional settings.
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Hawking, however, foresaw these developments and even shared with the BBC in 2012 his belief that 'the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race'.
That's a somber outlook, Stephen.
Nevertheless, his concerns were not unfounded.
During the interview, when AI was still in its early stages, Hawking recognized its potential to eventually outsmart human intelligence.
Auto Draft He warned: "It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate.
"Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded."
Moreover, in 2015, Hawking, along with 100 other experts, signed an open letter to the United Nations, cautioning against the risks of unregulated AI development. He and SpaceX's Elon Musk called for strict regulations governing AI.
Auto Draft In 2017, a year before his passing, Stephen Hawking issued a stark caution to humanity about the risks of further AI development in an interview with Wired magazine.
He expressed his concern, stating: "I fear AI may replace humans altogether."
If someone as brilliant as Hawking warns us that AI might herald the apocalypse, it's probably wise to pay attention.
Hawking even speculated that humans could become significantly less intelligent compared to machines if we don't keep up, a point he made in his book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, released a few months posthumously.
He observed: "We may face an intelligence explosion that ultimately results in machines whose intelligence exceeds ours by more than ours exceeds that of snails."
"It's tempting to dismiss the notion of highly intelligent machines as mere science fiction, but this would be a mistake - and potentially our worst mistake ever."
And he may have a point.
Stephen Hawking Issued A Final Warning To Humanity Before His Passing Looking at the current digital age, AI's growth has been astonishing.
Today, with tools like OpenAI, we can generate educational content, news reports, and even movie scripts, with AI continuously evolving based on the information we provide.
Considering the rate of AI's learning and adaptation, what will our world look like in 20 years?
Moreover, a novel text-to-video technology, Sora, is in development, sparking another call for a temporary halt in AI research in 2023.
While I'm not suggesting it's inevitable, if an AI-driven apocalypse is on the horizon, led by extraordinarily intelligent machines, count me out.
