All posts tagged: TESCREAL

Is a secular religion propelling the AI race?

Is a secular religion propelling the AI race?

(RNS) — Last month, a man hurried up the driveway of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s San Francisco compound hours before sunrise and lobbed a flaming Molotov cocktail at the gate.  No one was injured, and shortly after, a suspect was arrested outside the offices of OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, allegedly threatening to “kill everyone inside.” Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, who has no prior criminal record, has been charged with 13 felonies, including attempted murder. Moreno-Gama’s parents and lawyer have said he has a history of mental illness, but his digital footprint also shows he was deeply concerned that artificial intelligence would lead to human extinction. He frequented an anti-AI Discord server, where he mused in a chat about violent acts against tech leaders like Altman. And in a podcast interview recorded in January, he described himself as an “AI safetyist” and cited the influence of Eliezer Yudkowsky, a prominent AI theorist who argues that if anyone builds superintelligent AI, everyone will die.  The attack on Altman has ratcheted up existing tensions in Silicon Valley. …