Is pausing AI development the right thing to do?

This week, over 1,750 academics, engineers and some notable names in the tech space signed an open letter asking for all Artificial Intelligence (AI) labs to "immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4". We discuss the issue from a few perspectives. Early this week, tech news platforms were abuzz about an open letter that had been signed by engineers from big tech companies, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and by well-known tech leaders including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, along with more than 1,000 experts, petitioning for a pause in "Giant AI Experiments". In the letter, which was authored by the think tank the Future of Life Institute, concern was expressed that though currently, there is an intense race to develop even more powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems "…that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control…", the focus on exploring the risks and developing the attendant guidelines, protocols and systems to manage those risks, are considerably under-developed. In response to the perceived situation, the letter's authors are advocating for a pause in AI development for at least six months: Therefore, we call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.