Concerns grow over White House pick for AI safety

Popular concern is growing over the Biden administration’s appointment of Kamala Harris to oversee the government’s efforts on AI safety.

Tech industry leaders have been raising the alarm about the dangers of artificial intelligence and the worrying speed of its development. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, along with other tech titans such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, have called for a six-month moratorium in AI development as “a stepping back from the dangerous race to ever-larger unpredictable black-box models with emergent capabilities.”

“Recent months have seen AI labs 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,” hundreds of tech leaders wrote in the letter.

AI expert Eliezer Yudkowsky, who has spent decades researching artificial intelligence alignment [with human values] and founded the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), responded to the letter by urging tech industry captains to “shut it all down” and end AI development indefinitely.

“If somebody builds a too-powerful AI, under present conditions, I expect that every single member of the human species and all biological life on Earth dies shortly thereafter,” wrote Yudkowsky.

This month, “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton resigned from his position at Google because of the threat AI now poses, adding that a part of him regrets his work in the field.

In a poll from last year of over 700 AI experts, about half say there is at least a 10% chance AI can lead to human extinction. 

In another poll of 44 people working in AI safety, respondents warned there is a strong chance (30%+) that the future will be “drastically less” than it could have been as a result of weak AI safety research.

The late scientist Stephen Hawking warned in 2014 that "[t]he development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”

Kamala Harris’ appointment as AI safety commissar, therefore, came as a shock this month to those concerned about AI technology. In addition to Harris’ lack of experience on the subject, the former California attorney general has often drawn criticism for her confusing communication style.

Speaking to Chicago residents after a shooting once, Harris said: "We've got to take this stuff seriously, as seriously as you are because you have been forced to take this seriously." 

To students at Claflin University in South Carolina, she said: "We invested an additional $12 billion into community banks, because we know community banks are in the community, and understand the needs and desires of that community as well as the talent and capacity of community." 

During a White House event on the relationship between the US and Jamaica, Harris stated, "So to that end, we are announcing today also that we will assist Jamaica in COVID recovery by assisting in terms of the recovery efforts in Jamaica that have been essential to, I believe, what is necessary to strengthen not only the issue of public health but also the economy."

Elon Musk reacted to the news of Harris’ appointment by tweeting “Really?” and added that “maybe someone who can fix their own WiFi router wouldn’t be too much to ask.”

“I wouldn’t let Kamala Harris program the remote for my TV much less be the AI czar,” chimed in political commentator Chad Prather.

Other Americans slammed the decision to appoint Harris, whose approval rating has fallen below Joe Biden’s and that of any vice president in US history.

Earlier this month Harris met with chief executives from Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft to discuss AI, but it is unclear if any decisions or plans were made to ensure public safety.

The Biden administration’s plan for AI safety also includes $140 million to launch seven new National AI Research Institutes, bringing the national total to 25. It is unclear exactly how or if the institutes, operated by the National Science Foundation, will ensure AI safety.