Participating in a Reddit Q&A session the founder and former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, spoke out about his concerns regarding the growing development of artificial intelligence. Gates believes that humans are in danger of losing control over their own creation, and that AI could eventually surpass human ability. His comments mirror those made by renowed physicist Stephen Hawking, who himself expressed fears that AI could potentially "spell doom for the human race".
This view however was not shared by Eric Horvitz, the director of Microsoft Research's main laboratory at Redmond. In contrast to Gates' statements, Horvitz does not believe that AI will pose a threat and is confident that artificial intelligence could at some point possess consciousness. According to Horvitz,
"I think that we will be very proactive in terms of how we field AI systems, and that in the end we'll be able to get incredible benefits from machine intelligence in all realms of life, from science to education to economics to daily life."
Despite the difference of opinion, Gates is adamant that humanity must exercise caution when advancing forward with AI development. There are other influencial figures in the tech industry however who feel that it is now inevitable that AI will eventually surpass and eliminate mankind, one such individual is Sir Clive Sinclair – best known for creating the Sinclair ZX80, the UK's first mass-market home computer. In an interview conducted by the BBC, Sinclair stated,
"Once you start to make machines that are rivalling and surpassing humans with intelligence, it's going to be very difficult for us to survive,"
The story concept of a rogue artificial intelligence wiping out humanity has been a common staple in video games and movies, and while such things may currently exist as a work of fiction, the idea itself may be closer to reality than we think.
