Going rogue. Breaking containment. Misalignment. P(doom). As the industry booms, an entirely new vernacular has emerged in the debates over how consequential artificial intelligence really is.
\n\nWithin that new parlance, two phrases have become focal points: stochastic parrots and existential risk. And at the center of those is one prominent AI researcher who has never stood down from a fight, Timnit Gebru.
\n\nGebru came into the public eye several years ago after sparring with Google over a research paper she coauthored that called out biases in the company’s AI, saying that LLMs basically parroted their training data and risked perpetuating biased viewpoints. The contested paper resulted in Gebru’s departure from the company, and led her to found an institute that investigates harms perpetuated by technology and supports the creation of unbiased tech tools. She has also authored a new book, Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and the Radicalization of a Tech Idealist, expected to ship early next year.
\n\nMore recently, Gebru has spoken out against a faction of the industry that believes AI is so powerful it could destroy humanity. In turn, some members of that community, including an Anthropic cofounder, have alleged that Gebru’s earlier research about stochastic…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/