AI ‘Kill Switch’ Should Be Mandatory, Anthropic Co-founder Tells BBC
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AI ‘Kill Switch’ Should Be Mandatory
An artificial intelligence "kill switch" which can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for companies, a co-founder of one of the world’s largest AI firms has told the BBC.
Jack Clark, one of seven founders of Anthropic, said a way of shutting off AI software completely if it gets too dangerous was something society "might want to eventually pass rules around."
Clark noted that most labs have different ways of being able to pull the plug, including Anthropic, but said lawmakers may need to enforce having one.
Rapid AI Development and Risks
AI’s rapid development and fears over the risks it poses to humanity have been in the spotlight due to a series of warnings from executives and staff at AI firms. Some have suggested the technology could, if unchecked, kill all humans.
Anthropic’s Stance
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei over the weekend called for the pace of AI development to slow and be more closely monitored, though some have questioned the motivations behind this. He also emphasized that any action to rein in AI development should be done "without sacrificing commercial advantage."
The "Kill Switch" Discussion
Clark told the BBC that specifics around "kill switch" requirements and verification should be part of "the larger policy conversation" around AI.
Should you mandate for companies to definitely have a kill switch? Is that kill switch verifiable by a third party?
I think that’s the kind of thing society is going to want to know and might want to eventually pass rules around.
Ongoing Debates and Concerns
Anthropic, formed in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, is currently at the center of a debate around AI safety. Last week, a post from an artificial intelligence researcher who quit Anthropic over concerns AI could wipe out humanity went viral.
In response, Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger stated he personally thought the possibility of human extinction from AI was 10% within the next decade.
Computer scientist and Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "Godfather of AI," agreed with this assessment, saying a 10% chance of AI killing all humans was "not unreasonable".
However, some in the AI industry have downplayed these fears, suggesting they are overstated or may be designed to generate hype.
