Member-only story
AI vs. Humans: Who Will Win the Battle for the Future?
Part 4—Final BBC Reith Lecture of 2021 with Professor Stuart Russell on Beneficial AI and a Future for Humans
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a concept of the future but a reality of the present. As technology continues to advance, the potential of AI is both exciting and concerning. In the final lecture of the BBC Reith Lecture series titled “Living with Artificial Intelligence,” Professor Stuart Russell offers solutions to the challenges of AI.
The Control Problem in AI
One of the biggest concerns of AI is the loss of control over increasingly intelligent machines. Professor Russell highlights that machines are intelligent to the extent that their actions achieve their objectives. However, putting the wrong objective into a super-intelligent machine creates a conflict that we are bound to lose. This is where the Control Problem in AI comes in.
Once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers. At some stage therefore we should have to expect the machines to take control. — Alan Turing, developed the basis for the first computer, quote circa 1951
