A former chief executive of Google has warned about the “extreme risk” from terrorists or rogue states using artificial intelligence (AI).
Eric Schmidt called for governments to have oversight of private tech companies.
“The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI – I talk about extreme risk,” Mr Schmidt told the BBC, naming North Korea, Iran or Russia as countries which could have an “evil goal.”
Mr Schmidt, who held senior positions at Google from 2001 to 2017, said the technology could be used to create biological weapons.
“I’m always worried about the ‘Osama Bin Laden’ scenario, where you have some truly evil person who takes over some aspect of our modern life and uses it to harm innocent people,” he said.
With private companies leading the way in AI development, Mr Schmidt called for careful monitoring and regulation by governments.
“It’s really important that governments understand what we’re doing and keep their eye on us,” he said.
His comments follow a two-day summit on AI in Paris at which the UK joined the US in not signing a communique about the future direction of the disruptive technology.
The declaration on “inclusive and sustainable artificial intelligence for people and the planet” was signed by 57 countries, including India and China, as well as the Vatican, the EU and African Union Commission.
The UK said at the close of the summit on Tuesday that it had declined to back the joint communique because it failed to provide enough “practical clarity” on “global governance” of artificial intelligence or address “harder questions” about national safety.
Asked on Sky News whether it was a decision to side with the new US administration, Communities minister Alex Norris said: “No (…) that’s not how we make decisions.
“We make decisions based on what’s best for the British people.
“That’s what we’ve done in this situation, as we would do in any situation global or domestic, and that’s what we’ve done here.”
