Back
Yann LeCun Interview: AI Won't Destroy Jobs Forever or Pose Existential Risk
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: BBC
This interview is notable for capturing the internal disagreement among leading AI researchers about existential risk; LeCun's dissenting view from other 'godfathers' represents an important counterpoint in debates about AI safety urgency and research openness.
Metadata
Importance: 42/100interviewnews
Summary
Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun dismisses fears of AI posing existential risks or permanently destroying jobs as 'preposterously ridiculous,' arguing safety concerns can be addressed through proper development rather than restricting research. He draws parallels to historical technologies like turbo-jets, which were eventually made safe, and advocates for open AI research. LeCun represents a notable dissenting voice among AI's 'godfathers,' disagreeing with Hinton and Bengio on AI risk.
Key Points
- •LeCun argues AI existential risk fears are unfounded, calling them 'preposterously ridiculous' and a projection of human nature onto machines.
- •He acknowledges AI will eventually surpass human intelligence but says this is many years or decades away and safety can be addressed before then.
- •LeCun opposes restricting AI research, calling it a 'huge mistake' to keep AI 'under lock and key,' favoring open research.
- •He draws historical analogy to turbo-jets: initially unsafe technology that was eventually made reliable, suggesting AI safety is an engineering problem.
- •LeCun stands apart from fellow Turing Award winners Hinton and Bengio, who have expressed significant concerns about AI risks to humanity.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Geoffrey Hinton | Person | 42.0 |
Cached Content Preview
HTTP 200Fetched Mar 15, 20266 KB
Meta scientist Yann LeCun says AI won't destroy jobs forever Skip to content Home
News
US & Canada
UK
UK Politics
England
N. Ireland
N. Ireland Politics
Scotland
Scotland Politics
Wales
Wales Politics
Africa
Asia
China
India
Australia
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
In Pictures
BBC InDepth
BBC Verify
Sport
Business
World of Business
Technology of Business
NYSE Opening Bell
Technology
Watch Documentaries
Artificial Intelligence
AI v the Mind
Health
Watch Documentaries
Culture
Watch Documentaries
Film & TV
Music
Art & Design
Style
Books
Entertainment News
Arts
Watch Documentaries
Arts in Motion
Travel
Watch Documentaries
Destinations
Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Australia and Pacific
Caribbean & Bermuda
Central America
Europe
Middle East
North America
South America
World’s Table
Culture & Experiences
Adventures
The SpeciaList
Earth
Watch Documentaries
Science
Natural Wonders
Climate Solutions
Sustainable Business
Green Living
Audio
Podcast Categories
Radio
Audio FAQs
Video
Watch Documentaries
BBC Maestro
Discover the World
Live
Live News
Live Sport
Documentaries
Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live Documentaries Weather Newsletters Watch Live Meta scientist Yann LeCun says AI won't destroy jobs forever
15 June 2023 Share Save Chris Vallance Technology reporter Share Save META Prof Yann LeCun is known as one of the three godfathers of AI and works as Facebook-owner Meta's top AI scientist One of the three "godfathers of AI" has said it won't take over the world or permanently destroy jobs.
Prof Yann LeCun said some experts' fears of AI posing a threat to humanity were "preposterously ridiculous".
Computers would become more intelligent than humans but that was many years away and "if you realise it's not safe you just don't built it," he said.
A UK government advisor recently told the BBC that some powerful artificial intelligence might need to be banned.
In 2018 Prof LeCun won the Turing Award with Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio for their breakthroughs in AI and all three became known as "the godfathers of AI".
Prof LeCun now works as the chief AI scientist at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. He disagrees with his fellow godfathers that AI is a risk to the human race.
"Will AI take over the world? No, this is a projection of human nature on machines" he said. It would be a huge mistake to keep AI research "under lock and key", he added.
What is AI and what risks does it pose?
Warning using AI for loans and mortgages is big risk
People who worried that AI might pose a risk to humans did so because they couldn't imagine how it could be made safe, Prof LeCun argued.
"It's as if you asked in 1930 to someone how are you going to make a turbo-jet safe? T
... (truncated, 6 KB total)Resource ID:
1abd35dc230bb7b3 | Stable ID: OTA2MTkxZD