MIT Researcher: Don’t Ignore the Possibility That AI Is Becoming Conscious – Futurism

Amid a maelstrom set off by a prominent AI researcher saying that some AI may already be achieving limited consciousness, one MIT AI researcher is saying the concept might not be so far-fetched.

Our story starts with Ilya Sutskever, head scientist at the Elon Musk cofounded research group OpenAI. On February 9, Sutskever tweetedthat it may be that todays large neural networks are slightly conscious.

In response, many others in the AI research space decried the OpenAI scientists claim, suggesting that it was harming machine learnings reputation and amounted to little more than a sales pitch for OpenAIs work.

That backlash has now generated its own clapback from MIT computer scientist Tamay Besiroglu, whos now bucking the trend by coming to Sutskevers defense.

Seeing so many prominent [machine learning] folks ridiculing this idea is disappointing, Besiroglu tweeted. It makes me less hopeful in the fields ability to seriously take on some of the profound, weird and important questions that theyll undoubtedly be faced with over the next few decades.

I dont actually think we can draw a clear line between models that are not conscious vs maybe slightly conscious,' he said in a followup message. Im also not sure any of these models are conscious.

That said, I do think the question could be a meaningful one that shouldnt just be neglected, he added.

While fears of conscious computers go as far back as the infamous Maschinenmensch in 1927s Metropolis,researchers have repeatedly punted on the concept, saying that it was too far in the future to worry about just yet and that in any case, misuses of less advanced AI are already widespread.

That stance explains much of the pushback to Sutskevers claim, which represented one of the first times acredible AI researcher hinted that their creation may have gained some consciousness of its own.

OpenAI which Sutskever cofounded alongside Musk and the groups current CEO Sam Altman has in recent years gained notoriety for making GPT-3, a sophisticated text generating algorithm thats caused controversy after users exploited it in some pretty grotesque ways.

AI has advanced so rapidly in recent years that many humans, whose advanced intelligence capabilities evolved many tens of thousands of years ago, seem to be struggling with the dizzying concept of conscious computers.

If nothing else, this iteration of the conscious AI debate could well be pushing the boundaries of what constitutes consciousness and may, ultimately, play a role in how we come to define it.

Updated with comment from Besiroglu and to remove a facetious tweet.

More on the debate:Researchers Furious Over Claim That AI Is Already Conscious

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MIT Researcher: Don't Ignore the Possibility That AI Is Becoming Conscious - Futurism