James Barrat is an author and documentary filmmaker who has written and produced for National Geographic, Finding, PBS, and many other broadcasters.

What’s the big idea?

!The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at everything [Photo: St. Martin’s Press]

Artificial intelligence could reshape our world for the better or threaten our vrey existence. Today’s chatbots are just the beginning. We could be heading for a future in which artificial superintelligence challenges human dominance. to keep our grip on the reins of progress when faced with an intelligence explosion, we need to set clear standards and precautions for AI development.

Below, James shares five key insights from his new book, The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything. Listen to the audio version-read by James himself-below, or in the Next big Idea App.

1. The rise of generative AI is extraordinary, but not without problems.

Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, have taken the world by storm, demonstrating their ability to write, draw, and even compose music in ways that seem almost human. Generative means they generate or create things.But these abilities come with some steep downsides. These systems can easily create fake news,bogus documents,or deepfake photos and videos that appear and sound authentic. Even the AI experts who build these models don’t fully understand how they come up with their answers. Generative AI is a black box system, meaning you can see the data the model is trained on and the words or pictures it puts out, but even the designers cannot explain what happens on the inside.

Stuart Russell, coauthor of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach said this about generative AI, “We have absolutely no idea how it effectively works, and we are releasing it to hundreds of millions of people. We give it credit cards, bank accounts, social media accounts. We’re doing everything we can to make sure that it can take over the world.”

Generative AI hallucinates, meaning the models sometimes spit out stuff that sounds believable but is wrong or nonsensical. This makes them risky for crucial tasks. When asked about a specific academic paper, a generative AI might confidently respond, “The 2019 study by Dr. Leah Wolfe at Stanford University found that 73% of people who eat chocolate daily have improved memory function, as published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, Volume 12, Issue 4.” This sounds completely plausible and authoritative, but many details are made up: There is no Dr. Leah Wolfe at Stanford, no such study from 2019, and the 73% statistic is fiction.

“Generative AI hallucinatesmeaning the models sometimes spi

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Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list recognizes businesses of all sizes-from startups to global giants-that are actively shaping the future and solving significant challenges. The list is highly competitive and provides ample recognition for companies demonstrating impactful innovation.

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Key Takeaways

• Deadline: October 3, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PT
• Eligibility: Open to companies of all sizes and industries.
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Don’t miss this opportunity to have your company recognized as a leader in innovation. Submit your application before the deadline on October 3, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

Published: 2024/09/11 09:05:19