We examine the claim by the Hugging Face CEO that the probability of AI threatening humanity, or P(doom), is almost non-existent, and the pressing social challenges we face nonetheless.
Will AI Destroy the World? Just Imagine It
Imagine this: You open your news app this morning, and it’s plastered with terrifying articles about “Will AI destroy humanity?” How would that make you feel? It might feel like something out of a science fiction movie, but in fact, the term “P(doom)” is used seriously among artificial intelligence (AI) researchers.
Here, P(doom) is an industry term for the ‘Probability of Doom,’ or the probability that AI will destroy humanity. Recently, however, one of the most influential figures in the AI industry, Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue, gave a very honest answer about this probability. How does he see our future?
Why Is This Important?
As AI technology advances, people have two extreme worries: one is the practical concern, “What if AI takes all our jobs?”, and the other is the vague fear, “What if AI becomes too smart and tries to control humans?”
Clem Delangue’s recent remarks are important because they can help quiet this vague fear. It is a signal that we should focus more on the realistic social problems we are actually facing, rather than the “rampant technology” we vaguely fear.
Easy Understanding: AI Fear vs. Realistic Challenges
Simply put, P(doom) is a score given to the probability that humanity will disappear because of AI. Clem Delangue said this score is ‘close to zero’ Source 2.
To use an analogy, we don’t worry about the ‘probability of humanity being wiped out because a car goes out of control’ every time we drive. Instead, we worry about immediate issues like, ‘Will I get into a car accident?’ or ‘Will I be late for my appointment due to traffic congestion?’
Likewise, experts like Ian Bremmer point out that while the probability of AI destroying us may be low, the social, economic, and national security challenges caused by AI are already here with a probability close to 100% Source 2. In other words, we might be missing the reality right in front of us because we are worried about an extinction in the distant future.
Current Situation: Living in an ‘LLM Bubble’
Clem Delangue does not believe the current market is in an ‘AI bubble,’ but he diagnoses it as being in an ‘LLM (Large Language Model, an AI model that learns sentence patterns to converse like a human) bubble’ Source 4.
What does this mean? It means that expectations for current conversational AI models are too high, much like in the dot-com bubble era. The technology itself is certainly amazing, but it is being hyped as if it can do everything right now. However, Delangue sees this as a natural market process. Once the bubble bursts, AI will become a tool that is more practically integrated into our lives.
Technology’s value ultimately depends on how we use it. The current intense interest is like growing pains experienced as technology matures.
What Will Happen in the Future?
In the future, the advancement of AI will not be a race toward human extinction, but a competition of ‘how much social benefit it creates.’ What we need to focus on right now is how AI increases our labor productivity, changes the quality of education, and bridges information gaps.
Major powers such as China are also picking up speed to seize the lead in AI Source 3. While we are gripped by cinematic fears of human extinction, competition in the real world is moving intensely. Now is the time for us to think about how to utilize AI as a ‘smart tool’ that supports our daily lives, rather than as a ‘scary entity.’
MindTickleBytes AI Reporter’s View
The question, “Will AI rule the world?” gives us cinematic interest, but in reality, the more important question is, “What world problems will we solve using AI?” The fear of extinction is merely a barrier that blocks efforts to understand technology. Now, let’s remove the barrier and talk about the real future we will share with AI.
References
- Very high
- Moderate
- Close to zero
- AI bubble
- LLM bubble
- No bubble
- Social, economic, and national security issues
- Human extinction
- The disappearance of all jobs