A group of artificial intelligence experts, including Elon Musk, are calling for an end to the training of AI systems that can be powerful. This is due to the possible risks to society as well as humanity.

The non-profit Future of Life Institute issued the letter and more than 1000 people signed it. It warned of possible risks to civilisation and society from human-competitive AI systems that could cause economic and political disruptions.

The letter warns that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence could pose grave risks to society as well as humanity.

“Powerful AI systems must only be developed when we have confidence that they will have positive effects and are able to manage their risks.”

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It required a six-month stop to the “dangerous” race to develop systems that are more powerful than OpenAI’s recently launched GPT-4.

The letter suggests that governments take immediate action to institute a moratorium if such a pause is not possible.

The letter states that “AI labs should take this time to develop and implement a set shared safety protocols for advanced AI development and design that are rigorously audited by outside experts.”

“These protocols should guarantee that systems adhering them are safe beyond reasonable doubt.”

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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed the letter, Yoshua Benigo (often referred to as one the “godfathers” of AI), and Stuart Russell (pioneer of research in the field as well as DeepMind researchers at Alphabet.

According to the European Union’s transparency registry, the Musk Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation are the primary funders of the Future of Life Institute.

Musk has voiced his concern about AI. Tesla is Musk’s carmaker and uses AI to control its autopilot system.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT was released last year. It has inspired rivals to speed up the development of large language models similar to ChatGPT and encouraged companies to incorporate generative AI models into their products.

UK proposes ‘light touch regulations’ around AI

This comes just as the UK government unveils suggestions for a “light touch” regulatory framework about AI.

In a policy paper, the government outlines its approach to AI governance. It would instead create a new entity dedicated to the technology, but split the responsibility.

Europol was among the many ethical and legal concerns raised earlier this week by advanced AI such as ChatGPT. It warned about the possibility of misuse of the system for phishing, disinformation, and cybercrime.