Etching AI Controls Into Silicon Could Keep Doomsday at Bay

Even the cleverest, most cunning artificial intelligence algorithm will presumably have to obey the laws of silicon. Its capabilities will be constrained by the hardware that it's running on. Some researchers are exploring ways to exploit that connection to limit the potential of AI systems to cause harm. The idea is to encode rules governing the training and deployment of advanced algorithms directly into the computer chips needed to run them. In theory--the sphere where much debate about dangerously powerful AI currently resides--this might provide a powerful new way to prevent rogue nations or irresponsible companies from secretly developing dangerous AI.