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Untamed AI Will Probably Destroy Humanity, Global Leader Declares

artificial intelligence, conceptual illustration
Warning: Untamed AI Will Destroy HumanityVICTOR de SCHWANBERG/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY - Getty Images
  • An Australian member of Parliament warned that artificial intelligence could bring “catastrophic risks” to humanity.

  • Risk analysts who are already fretting over climate change, nuclear devastation, and more have added artificial general intelligence to the list.

  • The use of ChatGPT can also further diminish a human’s ability to think critically.


The rise of artificial intelligence coincides nicely with the dumbing down of education, claims an Australian member of parliament (MP). And that’s cause for concern, with risk analysts putting artificial general intelligence (AGI) high on their list of world concerns.

“It doesn’t take long, if you start thinking, to realize the disruptive and catastrophic risks from untamed AGI are real, plausible, and easy to imagine,” MP Julian Hill said in a speech to Australian Parliament, according to The Epoch Times. “AGI has the potential to revolutionize our world in ways we can’t yet imagine, but if AGI surpasses human intelligence, it could cause significant harm to humanity if its goals and motivations are not aligned with our own.”

As the warnings mount about the capabilities of AI, the lack of control humans could exert over AGI is the main concern, especially if a “malevolent actor may harness AGI for mass destruction,” says Hill.

Hill says militaries are already on the search for AGI as a warfare tool. “An AGI-enabled adversary could conquer Australia or unleash societal-level destruction without being restrained by globally agreed norms,” he says.

To highlight his point about the growing power of AI, Hill used ChatGPT to write part of his speech on how AI was limiting critical thinking skills in education as more students turn to algorithms to do classwork.

With the continued—and meteoric—rise of artificial intelligence, the unexpected becomes part of the equation. Controlling the technology may protect humans (and human intelligence) and lead to transformational changes, Hill says, but an unfettered proliferation of the technology could reap a variety of unintended consequences.

“The key message I want to convey,” he says about controlling AGI, “is that we have to start now.” Humanity may depend on it.

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