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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Robert Booth UK technology editor

‘We’re plausibly close to crossing the line’: are warnings of uncontrollable AI coming true?

A glowing blue quantum computing circuit structure sits inside a transparent glass case
With every increase in the power of AI, there is a potential increase in risk. Illustration: Just_Super/Getty Images

Picture humanity in a boat being swept down a raging river, praying there is no Niagara Falls ahead. Or imagine standing with the pioneering physicists in 1942 before they triggered the first self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction beneath a Chicago stadium.

These were two of the analogies used this week by Prof Robert Trager, an expert in the nascent field of AI governance, to describe the perilous but potential-filled moment the world stands at with accelerating artificial intelligence.

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