Hinton is convinced that the improvement of AI is accompanied by a flood of Internet space with false information, as well as generated videos and photos. As a result, a simple person can no longer know for sure where the truth is and where the lie is, the scientist warns. That’s what happened with a fake photo of Pope Francis, who the AI ​​recently “dressed” in a trademark puffy puffer jacket. Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence does not stand still and may very soon overtake its intelligent creator due to the specifics of the system. “It’s as if you had 10,000 people and every time one person learned something, everyone automatically knew about it. So these chatbots can know a lot more than anyone else,” says the scientist. . In this regard, the developer expressed concern about the “exit” of artificial intelligence in the labor market. As Hinton notes, despite the fact that if robots only “help” homo sapiens, very soon they can leave paralegals, translators, secretaries and other specialists who perform routine tasks without work. The predictions of the scientist have already begun to come true. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna recently told Bloomberg about the company’s new personnel policy. It will suspend the hiring of employees who can be replaced by artificial intelligence, and in the next five years, it plans to automate up to 30% of its back office and even to entrust part of the personnel management to the AI “hands”.
Hinton thinks the main threat posed by artificial intelligence is unpredictability.
However, Mr Hinton believes the main threat posed by artificial intelligence is unpredictability due to the huge layers of information stored in its “subcortex”. AI labs, in turn, only add fuel to the fire, allowing artificial intelligence not only to generate computer code, but also to manage it independently. The “Godfather” fears that without proper control, inventions will fall into the hands of malefactors, who will turn them into powerful weapons. Also, recently, AI has been able to read human thoughts. Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have given this skill to artificial intelligence. The AI ​​reads images of brain activity and “translates” thoughts into human language in text format. Although the development is aimed at helping people who have lost the ability to speak due to strokes and other ailments, it could well be used for purposes that aren’t the noblest. “It’s hard to see how you can stop ‘bad actors’ from using this for bad purposes,” the scientist said, warning that a reality in which killer robots operate isn’t far off. By the way, Hinton himself is a strong opponent of the use of artificial intelligence technologies on the battlefield. So in the 1980s he quit Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania because he didn’t want the Pentagon to fund his development.
In the meantime
German business leaders oppose the move to a four-day working week. They fear a decline in production productivity and, consequently, a loss of competitiveness. “In a period of transformation, we must on the contrary roll up our sleeves. Otherwise, German car manufacturers will lose their leading positions in the world,” said Ola Kallenius, the boss of Mercedes-Benz. Other business representatives agree with him. According to the head of the German employers’ union, Steffen Kampeter, less work for the same pay is, from the point of view of the economy, an unreasonable calculation.
An extra day off in Germany is demanded by the unions, and with this demand they went to the May Day protests this year. Unions cite studies proving that shortening the workweek does not reduce, but rather increases productivity. In addition, it is believed that it is thus possible to cope with the shortage of qualified personnel. “Women who now work part-time due to family responsibilities will return to full-time work, thereby increasing the company’s productivity,” Jörg Hofmann, head of the metalworking union, told the Bild newspaper. According to her calculations, even if only 10% of German women work full time, this will immediately give the economy over 400,000 skilled workers.
Politicians have also become actively involved in the conflict. The Social Democrats sided with the unions, while the liberal FDP and the conservative CDU/CSU bloc supported the employers. Arguments from the mouths of party representatives sound about the same – about productivity and staff shortages. In addition, there are fears that the four-day working week will require a radical restructuring of all business management, which will only complicate business life.
However, experts believe that with the introduction of artificial intelligence, there will still be a need to restructure and reduce the working week. AI should increase productivity, but many workers, or at least part of their job responsibilities, could be laid off. And this problem will have to be solved one way or another. “We have to respond to technological change with shorter working hours,” said Philipp Frey, a German specialist in digital employment transformation.
Prepared by Vasily Fedortsev
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