Name Date: r z$+

n Hawking warns artificial intelligence

could end mankind
By Rory Cel1an-Jones, Technology Correspondent for BBC

Prof Stephen Hawking, one of Britain's pre-eminent scientists, has said that
efforts to create thinking machines pose a threat to our very existence. He told
BBC: "The development of full artif,rcial intelligence could spell the end of the
human face." His warrring came in response to a guestion about a revamp of the
technology he uses to communicate, which involves a basic form of AI.
!t ;.,,,, 1.1.,,, L.t prof Hawking says the primitive forms of artificial intelligence developed so far
have already proved very usefu1, but he fears the consequences of creating
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something that can match or surpass hurnans. "It would take off on its own, and
re-designltself at an ever increasing rate," he said. "Hnmans, who are limited by
slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and wogld be superseded."
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are ress pessimistic. "I believe rve will remain in charge of the
firtiott .r,
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't' :' technology for q-decqq!1y_lslgggre and the potential of it to solve many of the
ul.twor1dp,Iut.*'ffiidRo11oCarpenter,creatorofC1everbot.
ir.:. rilj- Cleverbot's softrvare learns from its past conversations, ancl has gained high
a high proportion of people into believing they
r, ,,,!rrr\ , scores in the Turing test, fooling
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\ ore tollzino tn a ht trrran
are talking to a human.
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Mr. Carpenter says we are a long way fi'om having the cornputing porver or
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t";;hi.;" tuii i,-tir,.ioL i"t.li[*.e, but Il l, ,l a ,-
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believes ilwill come in the next few decades. "We cannot quite know what will jt-!,,r,r i,-,,..',..4:
happen if a machine exceeds our own intelligence, so we can't knor,v if we'llbe flllrr,,,rr*i"
innnitety helped by it, or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivabiy destroyeOOt#", , r t r .{
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fr.tnar.vking is not alone in leanng f,or the fi.rture. [n the shor-t tenn.
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f l.or...rrthat"clevermachines ofundertakingtasks clonebyhumansuntil*frrr*".1K , t, i,'
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Il lh: longer tetm, the technology,,
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", f."/ :li." ,, - [ro* will srviftly destroy millions ofjobs.
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"*-ou jentrepreneurElronMuskhaswamedthatAlis"ourbiggestexistentialthreat". " i ":r''':,''i
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and dangers of the
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11". ,f;,.. , - i in his
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interview, Prof Hawking also talks of the benefits /,J,f
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intemet.
lntemet. -ne the (llIgUtUI
quotes IIle
He qUOIeS of the
director Ul [British Ull\rrrrtssrrvs
tllU L-Drltrsrr organization] uvrr\<
intelligence \rtEcu[zGLruI] GCHQ's " l/j
Dy::;1-{' "' '' Il' f ".' f

.wanring
wanring about the net,becoming the command center for terrorists: bff?"*irl t'-
terror,ists: "More must bff'"*if
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clone by the internet companies to counter the threat, but the difficr.rlty is to do thi{&'&t"" ,'" +L:){i'i ,tt:,-
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without sacrificing freeclom and privacy." He has, however, been an enthusiastic fI rt 'itr- ! ,-{i,". ,,/,..r*l
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early aclopter of all kinc1s of communication technologies and is looking forward 1,,* I *.,,,'. i.|{ i."
tobeingabletowritemuchfastelwithhisner,vsystem. *.l',,.,i,,,, ,l . /
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,t,,J",,,,.r, .,,"'f ,,ff"rabletowritemuchfaste,withhisner'vsystem' , i't";' ' 'l'
tI tr. ,',t i, I,', z(Rrrrt[But nne nFhis
as,nect of
one aspect comortter generated
his own tech - his computer changed
cetterateci voice - has not changet {
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more natural voice. "It
,li,ln't want aarnorenatural become my
hasbecotne and I wouldn't
Iny trademark, ancl wouldn't t.F'
\fi"nil,:: 1 with British accent," he said. "I'm told that ".fo'

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it for a more natural voice
"narrg.
, ,'.'';.1,,;J/ childien who need a computer
a
voice, want one like mine." !t/ .-\L
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