How decentralization can mitigate ‘dystopic’ artificial intelligence risks — SingularityNET exec

cointelegraph.com:

While the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) comes with a truckload of benefits, it also comes with massive risks if the technology falls into the wrong hands. However, decentralization using blockchain technology might help prevent a catastrophe, according to Janet Adams, chief operating officer of the artificial intelligence and Web3-focused project SingularityNET.

At the Future Blockchain Summit event in Dubai, Cointelegraph sat down with Adams to learn about the risks of centralization when it comes to AGI and how decentralization holds the key to mitigating these risks.

While AGI is still a conceptual version of AI that allows a machine to learn and think like a human being, its development will create a massive shift in the world. However, the machine would need to have consciousness and become self-aware to be able to perform a broader range of tasks.

According to Adams, the “dystopic future” that many imagine when it comes to AGI could potentially happen if the technology is monopolized by big tech companies, the military or the government. The executive believes that Big Tech will use the technology “for the profit of the few” and will not allow for a significant shift in the inequalities of today.

Furthermore, Adams highlighted that, if AI becomes developed exclusively by the military, the risks could be “existential for humanity,” implying that humans might use the technology for war. On the other hand, if the technology is developed by a single government, the executive believes that this could lead to them having unprecedented power.

To prevent these risks, the SingularityNET COO believes that it is important to decentralize the development of artificial general intelligence using blockchain