Bill Gates rejected the Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak-backed open letter seeking to pause artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The Microsoft founder, Gates, is now going head to head against the billionaire entrepreneur, Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX, over the progress of AI development. The two tech figures now have contrasting takes.
Plea to Pause AI Development
Various AI platforms have rapidly showcased their impressive progress in recent weeks and months. And as such, Musk and Wozniak, alongside prominent tech figures, recently signed an open letter that wants to hit the pause button for the development of AI.
According to Reuters, philanthropist Gates stands firm against the call to halt AI development. Instead of pushing the pause button, the Microsoft co-founder suggests that the better route is to learn how to use the growing progress of AI best nowadays.
In an interview with the news outlet, Gates explained why pausing AI development is unlikely to solve the problems it entails. The Microsoft founder does not think "asking one particular group to pause solves the challenges" in AI development.
Gates responded shortly after Musk and other tech experts backed a call to stop the new technology's development temporarily. Since the open letter saw the light of day, this is the first instance that the Microsoft founder has addressed it.
The philanthropist suggested a different approach, contrary to the plea of the open letter signed by figures like Wozniak. Gates states that "we need to identify the tricky areas," noting that there are "huge benefits to these things."
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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 09: Elon Musk, founder and chief engineer of SpaceX speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition March 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Musk answered a range of questions relating to SpaceX projects during his appearance at the conference.
Open Letter Urging to Halt AI Development
The open letter, which Musk and Wozniak back alongside a hundred more tech figures, wants a temporary halt on the progress of AI tech. The plea points out that proceeding with development possesses "grave risks to society and humanity."
Interesting Engineering reports that the open letter demands an abrupt suspension of AI development. The signatories are asking for a six-month pause on training AI systems.
However, Gates believes that such a demand is complicated in the first place. He notes that he does not "really understand who [they are] saying could stop."
On top of that, the Microsoft founder questions how its implementation will be possible globally, requiring all countries to agree to pause training AI systems for at least half a year.
It is worth noting that while Gates is now focusing on philanthropy, he is passionately pushing forward for AI development. The tech behemoth he founded, Microsoft, recently invested $10 billion in OpenAI, which offers the GTP-4 AI chatbot system.
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