How the race for total AI domination is revisiting the worst of human history

In the space of a few short years, generative AI has exploded into our daily lives, impacting the way we learn, work and understand the world around us.

Open AI, the American artificial intelligence company cofounded by Sam Altman and Elon Musk in 2015 which runs ChatGPT, claims its non-profit “mission” is to ensure these systems “benefit all of humanity”.

And while the launch of ChatGPT has undoubtedly lightened the workload of many, engineer, journalist and AI expert Karen Hao says the AI race for world domination carries a huge human and environmental cost.

In 2019, Hao spent three days embedded in the offices of OpenAI and discovered this company, which claims to be transparent and operating “for the good of humanity”, was in fact highly secretive.

In her bestselling book ‘Empire of AI: Inside the reckless race for total domination’, Hao warns that the world has entered a new and ominous age of empire, where a small handful of companies are writing the future of humanity.

Today, on the In The News podcast, how the race for total AI domination is repeating the worst of human history.

Karen Hao discusses the severe cost of the seemingly unstoppable growth of OpenAI.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. 

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