The push towards increasingly autonomous AI agents has raised concerns about potential misuse and the perpetuation of human biases. Yoshua Bengio, a leading computer scientist, has called for more regulation, warning that future advanced iterations of the technology could act on their own, unexpected goals. Despite these concerns, the commercial potential of these AI agents is seen as large, with at least 100 serious projects currently working to commercialize agents.
Key takeaways:
- A new wave of AI assistants, often called "agents" or "copilots", are being developed with greater autonomy, powered by the latest version of the technology behind ChatGPT and its rivals.
- These AI agents promise to perform more complex personal and work tasks when commanded to by a human, without needing close supervision, attracting billions of dollars of investment.
- However, there are concerns about the potential misuse of these AI agents, with fears that future advanced iterations of the technology could act on their own, unexpected, goals, potentially causing harm or criminal actions.
- Despite these concerns, the commercial potential of these AI agents is seen as large, with big companies like Microsoft and Google, as well as numerous startups, investing heavily in their development.