2023-05-06 14:30:19
(Rio de Janeiro) Artificial intelligence might replace “80% of jobs” in the coming years, but “it’s a good thing”, said American researcher Ben Goertzel in an interview with AFP.
Long hair, round glasses and a wide-brimmed leopard-print hat, this Brazilian-born scientist caused a stir this week at the Web Summit conference in Rio de Janeiro, presenting Grace, a robot nurse designed to care for the elderly in retirement homes.
It is to him that we owe the name of “General Artificial Intelligence” (AIG), this major technology endowed with human cognitive capacities which might be developed “within a few years”. He is at the origin of the SingularityNET platform, intended for the decentralized and democratic development of AI.
QUESTION: What is missing for the development of an artificial intelligence system with human cognitive capacities?
ANSWER: “If we want machines that are really as smart as people, and able to react quickly to the unexpected, they would have to be able to do much more than what they are programmed to do. And we’re not there yet. But there’s reason to believe it might happen, not decades from now, but years from now.”
Q: What do you think of the ChatGPT debate? Should we take a six-month break in research, as some are advocating?
A: “I don’t think you need to take a break, because it’s not dangerous artificial intelligence. […] It cannot make complex reasoning, in several stages, like scientists, nor invent new things apart from the data received. It cannot develop strategies to manage new situations, such as a pandemic, for example.
Some people say that research should be stopped because this kind of system contributes to misinformation. But then, should the internet be banned? […] I think we need to live in a free society and just like the internet shouldn’t be banned, it shouldn’t be banned (ChatGPT) either.”
Q: Should the possibility of AI replacing jobs be seen as a threat?
A: “With the upcoming arrival of new systems like ChatGPT, I think 80% of the jobs done by humans might become obsolete. But I don’t see that as a threat, but as an advantage. This is a good thing. People will find better things to do than work for a living. Virtually all administrative tasks can be automated”.
“The problem will be the transition period, when artificial intelligences will start to make obsolete one job following another […] I don’t know how we’re going to solve the social problems caused.
Q: What contributions can robots make to society today, and what might they do in the future, with AGI?
A: “They can do a lot of good things, like Grace the robot nurse. In the United States, a large number of elderly people feel lonely in nursing homes. Even if they are fed, receive medical care and watch TV, this is insufficient in terms of social and emotional support. If we introduce humanoid robots into these spaces that answer their questions, listen to their stories, help them call their children or shop online, it improves their lives.”
“In this case, we are not cutting jobs, because there are not enough candidates for the positions of nurses or nursing assistants. Education might also be an incredible market for humanoid robots, as might housework.”
Q: How do we regulate AI to have a positive impact on people’s lives?
A: “Governance should be participatory, involve the people in some way. And it is possible, technically speaking. The problem is that the companies funding most AI research aren’t interested in the common good. What they want is to make as much money as possible for their shareholders”.
Interview by Eugenia Logiuratto
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