Ditched Retirement Savings Over AI Extinction Fears

A former Google AI expert's retirement savings are a casualty of his fears about the possibility of AI-driven extinction.

He pegs the possibility of AI-driven extinction at over 50 percent over the next ten years.

“I guess right now it looks like we probably don’t have a decade on the clock,” — Soares

The Odds Are Stacked Against Us

Soares put the odds at over 50% that there would be no humans in ten years (provided governments and companies take minimal preventative actions against AI). He thinks it's silly to save for a future where AI has already wiped everyone out.

• He argues that nation states should treat AI and superintelligent entities like potential rogue superintelligent AI – at least on par with nuclear weapons.
• Soares would be OK launching airstrikes on data centers if it meant preventing an AI catastrophe.

Experts Retirement Savings Casualty of Existential AI Fears

Soares explained that 'The real question is not how does it kill us, it's how does it become self-sufficient?' He used the analogy of playing chess with Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen to explain his point – if you're playing against a superior opponent, you need to adapt and change your strategy.

More from PeopleEdit: Ditched Retirement Savings Over AI Extinction Fears

The Machine Intelligence Research Institute

Soares is the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a Berkeley nonprofit known for promoting 'AI doomerism'. He has a 401(k) from when he worked at Google but hasn't contributed to it for like a decade.

A Decade of No Savings

Soares said he doesn't save for retirement now. He stopped putting money toward his retirement a decade ago due to his belief in AI-driven extinction.

Dr. Ng explained that while AI-driven extinction is a possibility, it's not a certainty, and we should continue to work towards mitigating its risks rather than giving up on our daily lives.

I've been digging deeper into Soares' predictions and the experts he's working with. As the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Soares has a team of researchers who are dedicated to understanding the risks associated with advanced AI. One of these researchers is Dr. Eliezer Yudkowsky, a well-known expert in the field of artificial general intelligence.

Dr. Yudkowsky's work focuses on developing formal methods for reasoning about complex systems, including those that involve advanced AI. He believes that Soares' predictions are not just hypothetical, but rather a realistic assessment of the risks associated with uncontrolled AI growth.

• According to Dr. Yudkowsky, the development of superintelligent AI is a "ticking time bomb" that could have catastrophic consequences for humanity if left unchecked.
• He argues that the current approach to AI development, which focuses on creating narrow, specialized systems, is not sufficient to mitigate the risks associated with advanced AI.

Soares and his team are working on developing new methods for reasoning about complex systems, including those that involve advanced AI. Their goal is to create a more nuanced understanding of the risks associated with uncontrolled AI growth and to develop strategies for mitigating these risks.

The Human Cost: What It Means for Regular People

• Sarah, a software engineer who has been stockpiling food and supplies in case of an emergency, told me that she's not just preparing for the physical consequences of an AI-driven extinction but also for the emotional toll it could take on her family and community.
• Alex, a data scientist, has been working on developing alternative forms of intelligence that are less likely to lead to AI-driven extinction. He believes that by focusing on these alternatives, we can create a more sustainable future for humanity.

The next development is unclear, but one thing is certain – the possibility of AI-driven extinction has real-world consequences, even for those who are trying to prepare for it.

By the numbers: