Open Letter to Pause AI Experiments

A group of leading technology executives, researchers, academics and others from around the world have signed an open letter prepared by the Future of Life Institute calling for a six-month pause on large, humancompetitive artificial intelligence (AI) experiments. As of March 31, more than 1,800 CEOs and 1,500 professors had signed the letter.

Brazilian researchers have discovered rocks formed from plastic debris in the permanently preserved area of Trindade Island, approximately 680 miles off the coast of Brazil. The island is a remote refuge for green turtles, which come by the thousands every year to lay their eggs. The only human inhabitants of the island are members of the Brazilian navy.

The team of researchers ran chemical tests on the rocks, called plasticglomerates, and determined that they were formed when fishing nets were dragged by the current and accumulated on the beach. It is believed that the nets melt when the temperature rises and they become embedded with the sedimentary granules and other debris on the beach.

“AI labs are 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,” the letter contends. The authors are concerned that “AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks.”

While AI systems grow more powerful, there is no natural law or barrier to technical progress. The letter’s authors and signers are asking all AI labs to pause the training of powerful AI systems so that safety protocols can be implemented to ensure the effects of these systems will be positive and the risks manageable. According to the letter, “If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.”

Individuals can view and sign the letter at Tinyurl.com/ AImoratorium.