Why officials say AI is facing its 'Oppenheimer moment' trends now
Regulators have warned that AI is facing its 'Oppenheimer moment,' as nations are deploying 'slaughter bots' on battlefields.
The statements were made at a conference in Vienna Monday by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, who said: 'This is the Oppenheimer Moment of our generation.
'Now is the time to agree on international rules and norms.'
The reference was to J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped invent the atomic bomb in 1945 before advocating for controls over the spread of nuclear arms after finding his creation could destroy the world.
The conference comes in the wake of an explosive report that the Israeli military outsourced life-and-death bombing target decisions to an AI dubbed 'Lavender' — news that the United Nations Secretary-General said left him 'deeply troubled.'
'This is the Oppenheimer Moment of our generation,' warned Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (above), whose government hosted a two-day conference on restricting AI in warzones. 'Now is the time to agree on international rules and norms,' he said
During his opening remarks Monday, Schallenberg described artificial intelligence (AI) as the most significant advancement in warfare since the invention of gunpowder over a millennia ago. Above left, the Thermonator, one Ohio-based firm's $9,420 flame-throwing robot dog
At this week's conference, one former AI investor for Google's parent company worried, 'Silicon Valley's incentives might not be aligned with the rest of humanity.'
During his opening remarks, Schallenberg described AI as the most significant advancement in warfare since the invention of gunpowder over a millennia ago.
The only difference was that AI is even more dangerous, he continued.
'At least let us make sure that the most profound and far-reaching decision — who lives and who dies — remains in the hands of humans and not of machines,' Schallenberg said.
The Austrian Minister argued that the world needs to 'ensure human control,' with the troubling trend of military AI software replacing human beings in the decision-making process.
The statements come just weeks after it was found the Israeli arm has been
