The smartest minds of our time agree that AI may be an existential threat to humanity. Putting too much AI power in the hands of one organization is dangerous - open AI aims to solve this through releasing AI research and technology freely.
#The Existential Threat of AI
Some of the brightest minds including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have expressed concerns about the potential risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Quoting Hawking himself:
“Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid, the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. It brings dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean we should pause AI development. The upsides are too strong.
Machines have and will continue to help us flourish across every sector: Health, education, transportation, the arts, the military and so on.
#The Middle Way
So what’s the middle way?
Open AI aims to answer this by democratizing access to AI. By giving everyone access to AI technology, there is not one person or a small group that becomes an AI super power.
The organization conducts AI research and publishes open-source software that help to accelerate the field. Their work, which is highly significant, can be found on their website.