Skip to main content

New research paper from Google reveals what the company fears most about AI

It’s hard to think of a company more infatuated with AI than Google. With multi-billion dollar investments in deep learning startups like DeepMind, and responsible for some of the biggest advances involving neural networks, Google is the greatest cheerleader artificial intelligence could possibly hope for.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things about AI that scare the search giant.

Recommended Videos

In a new paper, entitled “Concrete Problems in AI Safety,” Google researchers — alongside experts from UC Berkeley and Stanford University — lay out some of the possible “negative side effects” which may arise from AI systems over the coming years. Instead of focusing on the distant threat of superintelligence, the 29-page paper instead examines “unintended and harmful behavior that may emerge from poor design.” Two big themes which emerge are the idea of a machine purposely misleading its creators in order to complete an objective, or else causing injury or damage to achieve “a tiny advantage for [its] task at hand.”

“This is a great paper that achieves a much-needed systematic classification of safety issues relating to autonomous AI systems,” George Zarkadakis, author of the book In Our Own Image: Will Artificial Intelligence Save or Destroy Us?, tells Digital Trends.

As to whether fears about AI are justified, Zarkadakis says that Google’s warnings — while potentially alarming — are a far cry from some of the other AI warnings we’ve heard in recent months from the likes of Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. “The Google paper is a matter-of-fact engineering approach to identifying the areas for introducing safety in the design of autonomous AI systems, and suggesting design approaches to build in safety mechanisms,” he notes.

Indeed, despite its raising of issues, Google’s paper ends by considering the “question of how to think most productively about the safety of forward-looking applications of AI,” complete with handy suggestions. In all, whether you think working to achieve artificial intelligence is going to be a net positive or potentially disastrous negative for humanity, the newly-published paper is well worth a read.

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
What you need to know about Epic Games’ feud with Apple (and Google)
Fortnite iPhone

Antitrust concerns have resurfaced this year as various government agencies have launched investigations into the market power of big tech companies. But public servants aren’t the only ones concerned about the power of Big Tech; private companies are also on the attack.

The most notable example is the legal battle between video game giant Epic Games (developer of the video game Fortnite) and Apple, the most valuable company in the world. Here’s a history of the ongoing feud, the latest developments, and how it all might affect you.
What's rotten with Apple?
For Epic and other developers, Apple’s control of the App Store is the sticking point. This was one of the issues brought up at the House Judiciary antitrust hearing in July. Critics contend that Apple uses its control over the App Store, the gateway to iOS users, to extract excessive revenue cuts (up to 30%) from app developers.

Read more
Google execs say we need a plan to stop A.I. algorithms from amplifying racism
Facial Recognition

 

Two Google executives said Friday that bias in artificial intelligence is hurting already marginalized communities in America, and that more needs to be done to ensure that this does not happen. X. Eyeé, outreach lead for responsible innovation at Google, and Angela Williams, policy manager at Google, spoke at (Not IRL) Pride Summit, an event organized by Lesbians Who Tech & Allies, the world’s largest technology-focused LGBTQ organization for women, non-binary and trans people around the world.

Read more
Crew Dragon astronaut reveals what he loves most about spacewalks
return home button spacesuit feature spacewalk 1

 

One of the International Space Station’s latest arrivals, Bob Behnken, this week shared with earthlings what he loves most about spacewalks.

Read more