#118 Still waiting for Terminator – how the debate on existential AI risk has shifted

This week on the podcast, we discuss how the conversation about AI risks seems to be shifting away from the catastrophic, existential, wiping-out-of-humanity type of scenarios.

While the X-risk proponents are still out there, media coverage, regulators and the public at large seem to be homing in on more immediate and tangible AI concerns like discrimination, privacy violations, and misinformation – to name a few.

We explore the reasons for this shift, which includes the fact that many people now have first-hand experience of many AI products – and their limitations.

Credits:
Article about over-focus on existential risk (Scientific American) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-need-to-focus-on-ais-real-harms-not-imaginary-existential-risks/
Article about ASIC trial (Crikey) https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/09/03/ai-worse-summarising-information-humans-government-trial/
Article about California AI safety bill SB 1047 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/29/gavin-veto-ai-safety-bill-00181583
Article about Australia’s Voluntary AI Safety Standard (elevenM) https://elevenm.com.au/blog/breaking-down-the-voluntary-ai-safety-standard/