In a recent symposium titled “Generative AI: Shaping the Future”, iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks urged caution regarding the unbridled optimism around generative artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI uses machine-learning models to generate new material similar to the data it has been trained on, and has proven capable of creative writing, translation, generating code, and creating images from text prompts.
The symposium was part of MIT’s Generative AI Week and attracted hundreds of attendees from academia and industry. Hopes for the positive potential of generative AI were voiced, along with warnings about the need for responsible development. Among the optimism was the suggestion that AI could have significant impact in education, with MIT President Sally Kornbluth pointing to an initiative with Harvard to use AI for the benefit of underserved students.
Brooks argued against the notion that generative AI alone would lead to artificial general intelligence and expressed concerns around an uncritical adoption of the technology. Among these worries were the potential abandonment of promising research in favour of flashy AI advancements, and the risk of engineers forgetting other forms of software and AI. Brooks also highlighted that despite AI’s impressive capabilities, there is still a lack of understanding about how they work.
The symposium also featured a panel comprising MIT faculty who discussed their work involving generative AI, future advances, under-researched topics, and challenges in AI regulation and policy. Skewing perceptions of AI were also flagged, with one panelist raising concerns over “digital snake oil”, referring to products that over-promise and under-deliver.
The day ended with a discussion on safely integrating AI into society. Trust was deemed crucial, and with the proper specifications established, there was optimism that AI could perform beneficial tasks without causing fear or concern.
