‘An AI Fukushima is inevitable’: scientists discuss technology’s immense potential and dangers

Experts Optimistic About Energy and Drug Production Breakthroughs, but Fear Potential Misuse

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing science, with the latest generation of algorithms bringing us to the brink of transformation. According to Demis Hassabis, chief executive officer of Google DeepMind, “If we get it right, it should be an incredible new era of discovery and a new golden age, maybe even a kind of new renaissance.”

AI’s Potential in Science

Researchers have worked with AI for years, but the latest generation has brought significant breakthroughs. Hassabis cited hopes that AI will help create new batteries, room temperature superconductors, and possibly even nuclear fusion. He believes one of these advancements could pay off within the next decade, completely changing the climate situation.

Jennifer Doudna, a Nobel prize winner for the gene editing tool Crispr, shared her views on AI’s potential in making therapies more affordable. She stated that further AI-guided work at her lab aims to create a methane-free cow by editing the microbes in the animal’s gut.

Challenges and Pitfalls

However, there are also concerns about AI’s potential misuse. Hassabis acknowledged that AI is “not a magic bullet” and requires careful application. He mentioned potential pitfalls such as:

• A backlash against AI

• Worsening inequality

• Creating a financial crisis

• Triggering a catastrophic data breach

• Pushing ecosystems to the brink through extraordinary energy demands

• Unleashing AI-designed bioweapons

Siddhartha Mukherjee, a cancer researcher at Columbia University in New York, suspects that these challenges will be hard to navigate. He believes it’s almost inevitable that there will be some version of an AI Fukushima, referring to the nuclear accident caused by the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

Optimism and Ambitious Sustainability Goals

Despite concerns, many researchers remain optimistic about AI’s potential. In Nairobi, nurses are trialling AI-assisted ultrasound scans for pregnant women, bypassing years of training. Materiom, a London company, uses AI to formulate bio-based materials, sidestepping petrochemicals.

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a former director of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science, called for ambitious sustainability goals. She emphasized that advances in AI could drive suffering and urged for transformative change.