Right in the heart of Berkeley is the home of a group of modern-day Cassandras who rummage under the hood of cutting-edge AI models and predict what calamities may be unleashed on humanity – from AI dictatorships to robot coups.
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They are AI safety researchers who scrutinise the most advanced models: a small cadre outnumbered by the legions of highly paid technologists in the big tech companies whose ability to raise the alarm is restricted by a cocktail of lucrative equity deals, non-disclosure agreements and groupthink.
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Their fears about the catastrophic potential of AIs can feel distant from most people’s current experience of using chatbots or fun image generators. White collar managers are being told to make space for AI assistants, scientists find ways to accelerate experimental breakthroughs and minicab drivers watch AI-powered driverless taxis threaten their jobs. But none of this feels as imminently catastrophic as the messages coming out of this office.
