The dangers of unchecked AI

Artificial intelligence is the most powerful technology humans have ever built. But as tech companies race to build more powerful AI models, is society at risk? Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Human Technology, joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO world to talk about the dangers of recklessly rolling out AI tools without guardrails. Harris, a former ethicist at Google, has spent years studying the psychological impact of powerful technologies, especially on young children. We’ve already lived through one cautionary tech tale: social media. Will AI be different?

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Companies should be designing their products to maximize productivity, economic output, and military superiority, but instead are racing for market dominance and completely ignoring mental health and other risks, like psychosis and loss of critical thinking. Harris says that ethics around AI get thrown out the window relative to the incentive. And for big tech firms, the ultimate prize is achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), so they need to hook as many users as they can as quickly as possible.

“AI is the most powerful, inscrutable and uncontrollable technology we've ever invented,” Harris warns, “Why are we recklessly racing this out to society psychologically in ways that we definitely don't know what we're doing? This is just stupidity.”