Speaking at the global AI safety summit last year, the 39-year-old Briton said there might have to be a pause in development towards the end of the decade.
"I don't rule it out. And I think that at some point over the next five years or so, we're going to have to consider that question very seriously," he said.
Suleyman will now be mulling that question as the head of a new AI division within Microsoft, a superpower in the field due to its multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot. In his new role, he will have to balance his caution with the drive to innovate and commercialise.
Andrew Rogoyski, of the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey, says Suleyman's rationale for joining Microsoft is probably straightforward.
"If you're really concerned about the safety of AI, you can shout from the sidelines and hope that somebody listens to you, or you can be in the thick of it, influencing the critical decisions in arguably the world's leading AI company," he says.
Denne historien er fra March 21, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra March 21, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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