Majority of AI Researchers Say 5% Chance of Human Extinction

Plus Bezos invests in Perplexity

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
January 04, 2024

The AI Breakdown First Five - Thursday January 4, 2024

Today on the First Five:

  • 5. Midjourney Artist Database Leaked

  • 4. OpenAI Tries to Minimize EU Regulatory Risk

  • 3. Microsoft Adding an AI Button to PCs

  • 2. Perplexity’s Latest Round Includes Jeff Bezos

  • 1. 58% Percent of AI Researchers Think 5% Chance of Human Extinction

5. Midjourney Artist Database Leaked

As copyright lawsuits rage, a leaked list of artists that Midjourney allegedly trained their image generation software on has been circulating around social media. The list includes more than 16,000 artists’ names.

4. OpenAI Tries to Minimize EU Regulatory Risk

As global regulations start to come into force, big AI companies are scrambling to be compliant. Take for example OpenAI, which has shifted all European business to their Ireland-based subsidiary OpenAI Ireland Limited and has updated terms to be GDPR ready.

3. Microsoft Adding an AI Button to PCs

In what’s being called the first major update to the Windows PC keyboard in almost 30 years, Microsoft is introducing a new keyboard key specifically to give people one-click access to the company’s Copilot AI features.

2. Perplexity’s Latest Round Includes Jeff Bezos

Perplexity’s latest round — first reported by The Information — has closed. The company has raised a fresh ~$70m including notable investors like Jeff Bezos and values the company at $520m post money. The company is of course trying to do the unthinkable, and unseat Google as the ruler of internet search.

1. 58% Percent of AI Researchers Think 5% Chance of Human Extinction

Speaking of raging debates, 2024 kicks off with the X-risk conversation front and center. A new survey of more than 2700 AI and ML researchers finds that 58% of them ascribe approximately a 5% chance of human extinction because of AI. Interestingly, the reporting shows very different takes on that, with some outlets seeming to think that’s terrifying and others suggesting it should calm us down.

Bonus: Crowdsourced AGI?

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