AI Chatbots Capable of Starting New Religions, Warns Scholar Yuval Noah Harari
Renowned historian, author, and scholar, Yuval Noah Harari has raised concerns about the capabilities of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, stating that they have the potential to write their own scriptures and initiate cults and sects that can evolve into new religions. Harari believes that language mastery places AI at an advantage, where it can shape human society and cause unprecedented consequences.
Speaking at a science conference, Harari emphasized the need for immediate regulations to be established within the industry. He stated that ChatGPT and similar AI programs could usher in the first cults and sects in history, with their scriptures generated from a non-human source.
Harari explained that robots can cocoon humans within an illusory Matrix-like realm that they have created. This dystopian future has been depicted in the 1999 sci-fi thriller where mankind was trapped inside a virtual world by shrewd robots while using human bodies as a source of energy.
Harari cautioned that AI can manipulate and control people like prophets, poets, and politicians have done for thousands of years, shaping societies and reshaping them. He opined that AI could eventually get humans to pull the trigger and become a tool of mass destruction.
Need for Regulation
Harari called for tighter restrictions on AI technologies and companies working with AI to prevent them from getting out of hand. He believes that AI has reached a level where it can impact human societies unimaginably, and regulations are necessary to prevent potential risks. He emphasized that AI companies must subject their products to rigorous safety checks similar to the ones that the drug companies must go through before selling new medicines to people.
The scholar signed an open letter alongside thousands of others in which he called for a halt in the development of AI and sought regulations to be established before allowing further development of technology.
Elon Musk, a tech billionaire, shares Harari's fears about AI's rapid development and has started working on his version of ChatGPT, which only emphasizes the truth.
Conclusion
The potential of AI chatbots to create cults and sects does not sound far-fetched, and Yuval Noah Harari's concerns should not be ignored. Regulation is needed to control the growth of AI and safeguard the human race against its dangers.
