Nobel Speech on AI Risks and Benefits

Your majesties, your royal highnesses, excellencies,

dear laureates, ladies and gentlemen.

This year, the Nobel committees in physics

and chemistry have

recognized the dramatic progress being made in a new form of

artificial intelligence that uses artificial neural

networks to learn how to solve difficult computational problems.

This new form of AI excels at modeling human

intuition rather than human reasoning, and it will enable

us to create highly intelligent and knowledgeable assistants

who will increase productivity in almost all industries.

If the benefits of the increased productivity can be shared equally,

it will be a wonderful advance for all humanity.

Unfortunately, the rapid progress in AI comes with

many short term risks.

It has already created divisive echo chambers by offering

people content that makes them indignant.

It is already being used by authoritarian governments for massive

surveillance and by cyber criminals for fishing attacks.

In the near future, AI may be used to create terrible new

viruses and horrendous lethal weapons that decide by

themselves who to kill or maim.

All of these short term risks require urgent and forceful

attention from governments and international organizations.

There is also a longer term existential threat that will

arise when we create digital beings that are more intelligent than

ourselves.

We have no idea whether we can stay in control,

but we now have evidence that if they are created by companies

motivated by short term profits, our safety will not be the top

priority.

We urgently need research on how to prevent these new beings

from wanting to take control.

They are no longer science fiction.

Thank you.