Killer robots might be coming for us, but not if Elon Musk has his way. In a letter to the United Nations, Musk championed the cause for 116 entrepreneurs and AI experts to set guidelines for future robots that can make decisions about killing humans.
Of course, everyone went into hysterics.
The “killer robots” phrase somehow became the norm for many headlines, even though Musk was actually hoping to form a committee (called the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems).
At the same time, the letter does sound ominous:
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Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways. We do not have long to act.
Musk seems to be on a war of his own — hoping to create a roadmap for future robotic innovations. As usual, I have a theory about why that is. I think he’s trying to get us to think about AI dangers and, at the same time, realize that AI developments are escalating quickly. He’s not saying the sky is falling. He’s saying there is major progress and that’s a good thing, but with progress there are also many ramifications.
I happen to agree with him about the need for diligence. To me, it’s too early for regulations — we’ve seen that already with drone licensing where you had to write a code on the side of your DJI and pay a $5 fee. (The ruling is no longer in effect.) Drones are not filling the sky just yet, but at some point, licensing will make sense.
At the very least, it opens up a conversation about AI, and that’s always a good thing.
Thanks for reading,
John Brandon
VentureBeat Editor
From the AI Channel
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Beyond VB
Elon Musk leads 116 experts calling for outright ban of killer robots Some of the world’s leading robotics and artificial intelligence pioneers are calling on the United Nations to ban the development and use of killer robots. Tesla’s Elon Musk and Alphabet’s Mustafa Suleyman are leading a group of 116 specialists from across 26 countries who are calling for the ban on autonomous weapons. (via The Guardian)
The World’s First Album Composed and Produced by an AI Has Been Unveiled “Break Free” is the first song released in a new album by Taryn Southern. The song, indeed, the entire album, features an artist known as Amper — but what looks like a typical collaboration between artists is actually much more than that. Taryn is no stranger to the music and entertainment industry. She is a singer and digital storyteller who has amassed more than 500 million views on YouTube, and she has over 450 thousand subscribers. (via Futurism)
Google-made algorithm automatically removes watermarks from stock photo Stock photo distributors must be squirming in fear. Researchers from Google have developed an algorithm that completely removes watermarks from images in a matter of seconds — and it works entirely automatically. Photography professionals will often slap watermarks on their images to protect their copyrights and prevent people from using them without their permission. However, the researchers were able to identify a glaring error in this approach and exploit it to negate the visibility of watermarks altogether. (via TNW)
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