Prominent technologists sign an open letter requesting a six-month moratorium on the development of powerful AI.

Image Credit: Nature Leading experts in technology are pleading with scientists studying artificial intelligence to stop developing cutting-edge systems right away. The signatories advise labs to make use of the downtime to collaboratively create and implement advanced AI design safety measures, which would be supervised by a group of impartial, outside experts. More than 1,100 people signed an open letter that was posted on the Future of Life Institute website, in which they voiced their concern about what they called an out-of-control race to create and use increasingly powerful digital brains that we are still unable to fully comprehend, predict, or even reliably control. The warning reads like science fiction, which it might have been a few short years ago. But, those who follow tech news have seen a rapid rollout of increasingly powerful AI systems one after the other. It is both fascinating and unsettling in equal measure. Powerful AI systems, according to the collective, should only be created once we have a greater knowledge of their capabilities and are sure that the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. In light of this, the group is advising all AI labs to stop training on systems that are more advanced than GPT-4 for at least six months. All significant contributors should be included in this break, which should be visible and validated. The group advises that governments step in and impose a temporary ban if the suspension can't be put into effect right away. Image Credit: Columbia News It's important to stress that the organisation is not requesting a stop to all AI research; rather, they are calling for a respite from the dizzying rate at which cutting-edge, unexpected systems are being created and deployed without fully understanding all of the implications. Read More: Boosts VIPs in the Feed on Twitter? Elon Musk, Mr. Beast, President Biden, and MORE Supposedly Benefits The open letter has already received the signatures of a number of prominent IT figures, including Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, Elon Musk, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Individuals who concur with the message are encouraged to sign the document as a public declaration of support.