The Turing Award-winner Yoshua Bengio has some deep thoughts about the thrills and risks of artificial intelligence. This guy has seen it all—from the early “What is this AI thing, anyway?” days to the current “AI is everywhere and OMG, what have we done?” era.

What’s All This About, Anyway?

Young Bengio was fully charged with the mysteries of human intelligence. And in a few decades, he became a big deal in deep learning. (Think of it as teaching machines to think like us but without the need for coffee breaks.)

Later on, he had an “AI epiphany” moment with ChatGPT. Imagine him scrolling through lines of code, sipping his coffee, and suddenly dropping his mug in slow motion as he realizes: “Sh**t, this AI thing is HUGE!”

Bengio, as you’ve guessed, is one of the “AI Godfathers“. But has gone from super thrilled about his brainchild, to cautious.

The Double-Edged Sword of AI

After the sweet honeymoon with AI, Bengio can’t decide if his brainchild is Thor or Loki. On one hand, it’s saving the world, answering questions, and making our lives better in many ways. On the other, it might be used for nefarious ends, or it might end up plotting to take over with a mischievous glint in its digital eye.

Despite Bengio NOT being down for an AI apocalypse, he is losing sleep over it. “What have I unleashed upon the world?” he wonders as he contemplates the legacy he’s leaving for his grandson and the rest of us.

That’s why Bengio is calling for government backup with proper training, some ethical guidelines, and a whole lot of “let’s make sure we don’t accidentally create a digital overlord Skynet style or create the worst dystopian system our imaginations can fathom.” He’s also advocating for “One dollar for AI powers, one dollar for keeping AI nice,” he says. Fair play, basically.

Canada is pushing now for responsibility with some nice governance, laws, and a whole lot of “let’s keep AI in check” vibes while Bengio is advocating for a responsible AI that can also make bucks without becoming weird.

What About Us? 

While Bengio went from super excited with AI to cautious, this shows us that anxiety can work in a good way for us. We can’t deny the real risks of artificial intelligence. What we shouldn’t do is end up cowering up in a corner because of anxiety and nightmares fuelled by it!

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