The common question of “Will AI replace humans?” is an endless paradox. The more automation is done, the more work humans need to do.
Meta’s Chief AI scientist Yann LeCun is optimistic that artificial intelligence, including superintelligence, will remain under human control. During Nvidia’s GTC conference, he discussed AI’s potential to replace humans but emphasized that society would likely reject such an outcome.
AI as a Power Tool, Not a Replacement
Meta’s AI Chief Says Superintelligence Won’t Replace Humans — At
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
In reply to Nvidia chief scientist Bill Dally’s statement that humans are “giving people power tools” with AI, Yann LeCun stated that AI could eventually be more capable than human beings, but people would still be in charge.
The 64-year-old computer scientist sees an era when superintelligent AI is more like an army of highly trained assistants and not decision-makers.
“I mean basically our relationship with future AI systems, including superintelligence, is that we’re going to be their boss,” LeCun said. “We’re gonna have a staff of superintelligent, beautiful people kind of working for us.
“I don’t know about you, but I like working with people who are smarter than me,” he added. “It’s the greatest thing in the world.”
Read More:
Top 5 AI Breakthroughs of 2024
Superintelligence: Innovation or Extinction?
The superintelligence debate, wherein we refer to AI systems that are more intelligent than the human brain, tends to bring forth fears of doomsday. The likes of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk have cautioned that AI could cause an extinction-level event.
But LeCun has continually rejected these concerns. In a 2024 X (formerly Twitter) post, he referred to the prospect of superintelligence overthrowing humans as a “sci-fi trope” and a “ridiculous situation that defies everything we know about how things function.”
For other researchers, a super-intelligent AI is hard to control. They believed that once it surpassed the tasks of the programmers, humans would have difficulty setting its limitations.
No Blueprint for Superintelligence Yet
In a Business Insider report, LeCun highlighted that humankind is nowhere near creating a superintelligent AI system. He explained that the rise of superintelligence won’t be an event.
LeCun added that no blueprint for superintelligent systems has been established, but an essential AI architecture could help us get there.
The Real Risk: Misuse and Unreliable AI
LeCun admitted that AI systems are currently plagued by issues of misuse and unreliability. Nevertheless, he is convinced that the answer is to create “better AI.
The solution to this, according to LeCun, is improved AI. Systems that possess common sense, the ability to reason, and the ability to estimate the reliability of their own responses.
Related Article:
John Hopfield, Geoffrey Hinton Receive 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics Amid Fears of AI ‘Getting out of Control’