As AI updates continue to become more true-to-life, it brings with it some cause for concern.
Elon Musk has claimed that AI can be “detrimental to civilization” and 1,000+ tech industry leaders have signed an open letter calling for a 6-month pause on AI development, citing that it has “profound risks to society”.
Here are some reasons why AI may be a cause for concern;
1. Hackers/Phishing
AI-powered chatbots can mimic human conversations to create phishing scams. For example, artificially generated voices are used to call your loved ones to pose as you and ask for money urgently. A story posted by the Washington Post describes AI voice generation as “the perfect storm, with all the ingredients you need to create chaos”. Hackers only need a three-second clip of your voice, which can be taken from social media profiles including TikTok and YouTube.
2. Malware Creation
AI can be specifically programmed to exploit vulnerabilities in networks and computer systems. It can create new strains of malware that can be a significant risk to businesses, evading anti-virus software detection.
3. Manipulation
Deceptive manipulation can occur when AI generates fake scenarios, fake news, fake social media posts and fake emails to manipulate victims into sharing personal information. An example of this would be videos that look like they have been taken by a celebrity but have been generated by AI.
Are the tech powerhouses and leaders calling on a pause on the development of AI a cause for concern? Or is it just an exaggeration to a platform that is developing at a rapid pace?
Written By Emma Mitchell