AI Minister Says Solutions Exist Amid Researcher’s Safety Concerns
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says the federal government is closely monitoring developments at Anthropic after a researcher resigned from the company and raised concerns about the potential dangers of advanced AI.
Solomon says warnings about the risks posed by artificial intelligence are not new, pointing to the Liberal government’s efforts to introduce regulatory measures through privacy legislation.
According to a report by The Canadian Press, Solomon says both regulatory and technical solutions are available to address the potential dangers of AI, while Canada is also working with other countries on measures to protect citizens.
“There are real concerns” about the potential negative consequences of artificial intelligence, Solomon said.
He made the comments in Edmonton, where he announced the launch of a new initiative aimed at improving AI literacy among Canadians.
Last week, Solomon announced new voluntary principles for the development of data centres in Canada, following growing opposition to data centre projects across the country.
The comments came after AI researcher Jacob Coxon announced on X that he had resigned from Anthropic. Coxon said he had spent the previous three years conducting pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic.
“I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.
“Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.
“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible - but I hear the same people express fear privately.
“No other human activity poses this level of danger.”