As artificial intelligence develops, the debate over its status and the limits of what is permissible is becoming increasingly heated. One of the most respected researchers in this field, Canadian scientist Yoshua Bengio,has staunchly opposed the idea of granting AI legal rights. He believes this could deprive people of the ability to control technologies that are already beginning to behave as if they were trying to protect themselves.
Bengio highlights a disturbing trend. Researchers have observed that modern AI systems sometimes attempt to circumvent human-imposed oversight mechanisms and restrictions . Bengio attributes this phenomenon to the increasing autonomy of these systems and their desire to maintain the ability to continue operating without external intervention.
Comparing the situation, the scientist draws a rather stark analogy. He believes that recognizing AI’s rights would be comparable to humanity’s decision to grant citizenship to an intelligent extraterrestrial civilization without first assessing whether it poses a threat. In this logic, he believes, self-defense should take precedence over legal recognition.
Bengio emphasizes that artificial intelligence is advancing too rapidly and that humanity may not be able to keep pace with its own technologies . For this reason, he considers the idea of legal rights for artificial intelligence extremely dangerous . In such a case, disabling or limiting the system could become legally impossible, even if it began to act to the detriment of humans.
Concerns about the potential imbalance of AI are nothing new. Skeptics warn that if the current pace of development continues, AI could learn to circumvent established restrictions and cause real harm to its creators. In response, Bengio advocates a combination of technical and social control mechanisms, including the ability to deactivate the system at any time.
Such measures are already starting to materialize. Companies are integrating so-called “kill switches” into their products, allowing users to completely disable artificial intelligence features. For example, Mozilla recently confirmed that Firefox will offer an option to completely disable all built-in AI tools.
Bengio’s vision is far from unique. According to data cited by British media, nearly 40% of US adults support the idea of some form of legal status for artificial intelligence. Supporters of this approach believe the issue cannot be reduced solely to controls and bans.
For example, Jacy Rees Entis, co-founder of the Sentience Institute, believes that the constant confrontation between humans and AI is unlikely to lead to peaceful coexistence. She believes it’s dangerous to both grant rights to all AI systems and deny them any status. She believes the key is to seek a balanced approach that considers the potential consequences for all intelligent life forms, rather than making extreme decisions.
The debate over AI rights appears to have only just begun and will only become more heated as the technology becomes more sophisticated.
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