AI could cause major incidents within two years: DeepMind chief

Artificial intelligence systems could cause major incidents within the next two years unless stronger safety measures are introduced as their capabilities grow, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an AI conference in Dublin, Hassabis described recent incidents involving AI systems as “early warning shots”, despite the technology not yet being particularly powerful.

The incidents were not yet major, but could become more serious over the next year or two without greater efforts by companies and governments to ensure AI safety, he said.

Hassabis called for the industry, individual companies and governments to do more to secure increasingly capable AI systems.