CIRSD

The international conversation on AI is often terribly confusing, since different kinds of AI become fused under the one overarching term. There are three kinds of AI: narrow, general, and super AI, with some grey areas in between. It is very important to clarify these distinctions because each type has very different impacts and vastly different national and international regulatory requirements.

Without national and international regulation, it is inevitable that humanity will lose control of what will become a non-biological intelligence beyond our understanding, awareness, and control. Half of AI researchers surveyed by the Center for Human Technology believe there is a 10 percent or greater chance that humans will go extinct from their inability to control AI. But, if managed well, artificial general intelligence could usher in great advances in the human condition—from medicine, education, longevity, and turning around global warming to advances in scientific understanding of reality and creating a more peaceful world. So, what should policymakers know and do now to achieve the extraordinary benefits while avoiding catastrophic, if not existential, risks?