He is the second of the so-called three “godfathers” of AI, known
for their pioneering work in the field, to voice concerns about the
direction and the speed at which it is developing. […]
Prof Bengio told the BBC he was concerned about “bad actors” getting
hold of AI, especially as it became more sophisticated and powerful.
“It might be military, it might be terrorists, it might be somebody
very angry, psychotic. And so if it’s easy to program these AI
systems to ask them to do something very bad, this could be very
dangerous.
“If they’re smarter than us, then it’s hard for us to stop these
systems or to prevent damage,” he added. Prof Bengio admitted those
concerns were taking a personal toll on him, as his life’s work,
which had given him direction and a sense of identity, was no longer
clear to him. “It is challenging, emotionally speaking, for people
who are inside [the AI sector],” he said. “You could say I feel
lost. But you have to keep going and you have to engage, discuss,
encourage others to think with you.”