Artificial intelligence (AI) has takers and critics alike. Tech companies have been promoting the advantages of the next-gen technology, while saying that the current models are very limited. Speaking on similar lines, Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Facebook parent Meta, noted that generative AI trained on large language models (LLMs) are not very intelligent as they are coached on language and they are not even as smart as a dog.
\u201cThose systems are still very limited, they don\u2019t have any understanding of the underlying reality of the real world, because they are purely trained on text, massive amount of text,\u201d CNBC quoted LeCun, who was speaking at the Viva Tech conference currently underway in Paris, France.
\u201cMost of human knowledge has nothing to do with language \u2026 so that part of the human experience is not captured by AI,\u201d he added.LeCun highlighted that AI systems can pass the Bar examination required for someone to become an attorney but However, can\u2019t load a dishwasher, which a 10-year-old could \u201clearn in 10 minutes.\u201d
\u201cWhat it tells you [that] we are missing something really big \u2026 to reach not just human-level intelligence, but even dog intelligence,\u201d LeCun noted.
The Meta executive also said the social media company is working on training AI on video — a relatively tougher task.
Risks of AI technology<\/span>
Some experts and famous people have argued that AI technology poses dangers to humanity. Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that AI is \u201cone of the biggest risks to the future of civilization.\u201d<\/p>\nAccording to the report, Jacques Attali, a French economic and social theorist who writes about technology, was also speaking at the conference. He said that AI being good or bad depends on its use.
\u201cIf you use AI to develop more fossil fuels, it will be terrible. If you use AI [to] develop more terrible weapons, it will be terrible,” he was quoted as saying.
“On the contrary, AI can be amazing for health, amazing for education, amazing for culture,\u201d he added.
Speaking on whether robots will take over humans, Attali said, \u201cIt is well-known mankind is facing many dangers in the next three or four decades.\u201d
He pointed out that apart from climate disasters and war, he is worried that robots \u201cwill turn against us.\u201d
LeCun, however, said that even though machines will become more intelligent in future, they should not be seen as a danger.
\u201cWe should not see this as a threat, we should see this as something very beneficial. Every one of us will have an AI assistant \u2026 it will be like a staff to assist you in your daily life that is smarter than yourself,\u201d LeCun said.
He added that the fear that “if robots are smarter than us, they are going to want to take over the world” has been popularised by science fiction and that “there is no correlation between being smart and wanting to take over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n