Is advanced AI or climate change a bigger threat to our world?

Is advanced AI or climate change a bigger threat to our world?

Climate change, caused by human action, is leading to a #hotter #planet, causing severe weather events, increased sea levels, a lesser variety of species and posing more risks to our health. If no immediate action is taken soon, the results could be disastrous.

AI, on the other hand, has many benefits but also bears many potential risks. There are immediate concerns like job losses because of automation, privacy infringement, misuse of AI and biases in AI algorithms. In the long run, an even more substantial risk could come from Artificial General Intelligence (#AGI), which could displace many jobs. More troubling could be if AI begins to generate harmful information, which could lead to severe consequences like providing incorrect steps for equipment repair or giving the wrong medical diagnosis.

According to the #World #Health #Organisation, climate change could result in 250,000 more #deaths a year between 2030 and 2050. Simultaneously, AI could lead to massive loss of lives, cautioned Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, an opinion shared by many tech leaders.

The situation could worsen if the threats from climate change and AI cross paths. Inaccurate AI-driven climate models could make wrong predictions, leading to improper policy decisions, ineffective disaster management and misuse of resources, thereby worsening the impact of climate change. Additionally, #unchecked #AI #growth could divert crucial resources needed to take on #climate #change.

The dual threats of climate change and advancing AI need global awareness and decisive policies. It is essential to strike a balance between these immediate and future #threats. Inaction, or delay, is a gamble that we cannot afford.

https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2023/ai-could-lead-to--many--many--deaths--.html