Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of the MI6 during the UK’s invasion of Iraq, has expressed skepticism towards scientists’ warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence due to their incorrect claims about Covid-19. He believes that if brilliant scientists can go “off piste” during a pandemic, then their predictions about AI destroying humanity may not be trustworthy.
Sir Richard, who is now 78 years old, also disagrees with the notion that artificial intelligence and human intelligence are the same. He considers it an extreme interpretation. Speaking on the One Decision podcast, he said, “Lots of supposedly brilliant scientists, and they are brilliant, said all sorts of things during the pandemic – about the pandemic and the virus. And, we now discover a lot of what they were saying was scientifically off-piste, wrong.”
Sir Richard Dearlove said that as ‘brilliant’ scientists had gone ‘off piste’ during the pandemic, he was sceptical of experts telling him AI will destroy humanity
Security personnel stand guard outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan as members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus make a visit
Sir Richard argues that these brilliant scientists used their knowledge and expertise to influence government policy during the pandemic. Therefore, he approaches extreme claims made by scientists regarding AI with a degree of cynicism. He states, “Of course, the moment someone like me starts criticizing or commenting, I am dismissed because [they say], ‘What the hell do you know about artificial intelligence?’ I have been involved in it all my life.”
These remarks from Sir Richard came after American computer scientist Eliezer Yudkowsky discussed the need for humanity to control the development of AI. Yudkowsky believes that although current AI systems do not pose a risk, this may change in the future. He warns that not being able to control AI and make it “nice” could lead to the end of humanity.
Sir Richard disagrees with Yudkowsky’s view that AI and humans are the same. He questions whether there is truly no distinction between human intelligence and artificially built systems. To him, it is more of an existential question rather than a scientific one.
In addressing the potential risks of AI, Yudkowsky suggests that the heads of state in the US, UK, and China should join forces and establish supervised, monitored facilities for AI development. He cryptically adds that as long as humanity chooses not to make the same mistakes, the issues with AI can be managed.
Sir Richard criticizes Yudkowsky for presenting extreme views as an authoritative scientist, believing that such alarming statements catch people’s attention. He remains suspicious of the extraordinary interpretation of AI presented by Yudkowsky.
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