Next generation arms race could cause ‘extinction’ event akin to nuclear war, pandemic: tech chief [Video]

An artificial intelligence arms race between countries and corporations to see who can develop the most powerful AI machines could create an existential threat to humanity, the co-founder of an AI safety nonprofit told Fox News. 

“AI could pose the risk of extinction, and part of the reason for this is because we’re currently locked in an AI arms race,” Center for AI Safety Executive Director Dan Hendrycks said. “We’re building increasingly powerful technologies, and we don’t know how to completely control them or understand them.”

“We did the same with nuclear weapons,” he continued. “We’re all in the same boat with respect to existential risk and the risk of extinction.”

AI ARMS RACE COULD LEAD TO EXTINCTION–LEVEL EVENT FOR HUMANITY: AI SAFETY DIRECTOR

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Hendrycks’ firm released a statementTuesday warning that “[m]itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Many top …