With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), some tech founders, experts, and researchers have stepped forward in an open letter that called for a six-month pause on AI development. The letter, which has over 1,000 signatures, has some notable signees, including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
However, not all tech billionaires agree with the motion.
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, recently spoke out against the initiative, arguing that he doesn’t think the proposed pause will “solve the challenges.”
Related: The Open Letter Asking To Pause Artificial Intelligence Development Misses The Mark. Here’s Why.
“Clearly there’s huge benefits to these things… what we need to do is identify the tricky areas,” Gates told Reuters. Furthermore, Gates voiced skepticism about not only what the AI pause would solve, but also how it would be enforced.
“I don’t really understand who they’re saying could stop, and would every country in the world agree to stop, and why to stop,” he told the outlet. “But there are a lot of different opinions in this area.”
A day before the open letter was published, Gates posted on his blog, GatesNotes, about the future of AI, writing that its potential is “exciting,” and that it can be used to solve some of the world’s “worst inequities.”
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