Amid all this, he says, AI was an afterthought, if even that. And then, it was exciting. In 2009, Google X left an AI watching YouTube. All by itself, it started hunting for cat videos. \u201cI\u2019m a geek,\u201d says Mo. \u201cI freaking loved it. I was dying on this. I was, like, imagine what we can create!\u201d<\/p>\n
A few years later, Google bought DeepMind, the AI start-up. Now near the top, Mo was at an early confidential briefing by a co-founder, Demis Hassabis, about what his toys could do. Basically, they were learning to play computer games on an Atari. \u201cAfter four hours [the AI] started to play really well,\u201d he says. \u201cAfter five hours it started to figure out new strategies. After six hours it was the best player on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he was thrilled. \u201cGeek,\u201d he reminds me. \u201cOh my God,\u201d he thought at the time. \u201cWe\u2019re going to build amazing things that are going to change even more people\u2019s lives.\u201d But then came the arm and the yellow ball. \u201cAnd it completely froze me,\u201d he says. He saw where this was going. The only way it could go. \u201cThe reality is,\u201d he says, \u201cwe\u2019re creating God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only it\u2019s worse than that. \u201cBecause if you think about it,\u201d he says, \u201cevery technology we have ever built magnifies human abilities. You can walk at 5mph, or you can get in a car and drive at 200mph. Now, this technology is going to do two things. It\u2019s going to magnify humanity a millionfold. A billionfold. And it\u2019s going to be autonomous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a> (subscription required).<\/p>\n \u201cHave you ever seen Men in Black?\u201d Mo Gawdat says, when asked to describe his former job as chief business officer of Google X<\/p>\n He tells @hugorifkind<\/a> how a human tragedy shaped the way he sees the future \u2013 and what we need to do nexthttps:\/\/t.co\/pt8EqP64r3<\/a><\/p>\n — The Times (@thetimes) September 29, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n