
Director Ridley Scott Warns Against AI: ‘Technical Hydrogen Bomb’
By Movieguide® Contributor
THE MARTIAN producer Ridley Scott recently warned the entertainment industry about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
“We have to lock down AI. And I don’t know how you’re going to lock it down,” he told Rolling Stone. “They have these discussions in the government, ‘How are we going to lock down AI?’ …You’re never going to lock it down. Once it’s out, it’s out.”
“If I’m designing AI, I’m going to design a computer whose first job is to design another computer that’s cleverer than the first one,” he added. “And when they get together, then you’re in trouble, because then it can take over the whole electrical-monetary system in the world and switch it off. That’s your first disaster. It’s a technical hydrogen bomb. Think about what that would mean.”
THE TERMINATOR director, James Cameron, previously voiced similar concerns, saying, “I think the weaponization of AI is the biggest danger.”
“I think that we will get into the equivalent of a nuclear arms race with AI, and if we don’t build it, the other guys are for sure going to build it, and so then it’ll escalate,” he added. “You could imagine an AI in a combat theatre, the whole thing just being fought by the computers at a speed humans can no longer intercede, and you have no ability to deescalate.”
Scott even compared artificial intelligence with the human-like robots from his film BLADE RUNNER.
“I always thought the world would end up being run by two corporations, and I think we’re headed in that direction,” the filmmaker said. “Tyrell Corp in BLADE RUNNER probably owned 45-50% of the world, and one of his playthings was creating replication through DNA. Tyrell [played by Joe Turkel] thinks he’s god and in the first BLADE RUNNER has made a Nexus female. And the Nexus female will have a limited lifespan because AI will get dangerous.”
AI was a major tension in the recent Hollywood strikes. Scott emphasized, “They really have to not allow this, and I don’t know how you can control it.”
“There’s something non-creative about data,” he continued. “You’re gonna get a painting created by a computer, but I like to believe – and I’m saying this without confidence – it won’t work with anything particularly special that requires emotion or soul. With that said, I’m still worried about it.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the dangers of Artificial Intelligence:
Elon Musk recently announced his plans to combat woke artificial intelligence—something he sees as a major threat to humankind.
“The danger of training AI to be woke—in other words, lie—is deadly,” Musk warned…
ChatGPT is the first mainstream AI tool available, and Musk co-founded its parent company, OpenAI, in 2015.
However, since cutting ties with OpenAI, Musk has frequently criticized ChatGPT, citing it as an example of “training AI to be woke.”
“OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google,” he tweeted.