Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing 'Risks to Society' - The New York Times

More than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk, have urged artificial intelligence labs to pause development of the most advanced systems, warning in an open letter that A.I. tools present "profound risks to society and humanity." A.I. developers are "locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one -- not even their creators -- can understand, predict or reliably control," according to the letter, which was released Wednesday by the nonprofit group Future of Life Institute. Others who signed the letter include Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple; Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election; and Rachel Bronson, the president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the Doomsday Clock. "These things are shaping our world," said Gary Marcus, an entrepreneur and academic who has long complained of flaws in A.I. systems, in an interview. "We have a perfect storm of corporate irresponsibility, widespread adoption, lack of regulation and a huge number of unknowns."