Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Warns Of Nuclear-Level Risks In Global Superintelligent AI Race: 'What Begins As A Push For A Superweapon...'

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, and Center for AI Safety Director Dan Hendrycks have issued a warning against a global race to develop superintelligent AI.

What Happened: The trio, in a paper titled “Superintelligence Strategy,” expressed concerns over the U.S. government’s potential pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) in a manner akin to the Manhattan Project. The experts worry that such a race could trigger dangerous global conflicts, reminiscent of the nuclear arms race.

"What begins as a push for a superweapon and global control risks prompting hostile countermeasures and escalating tensions, thereby undermining the very stability the strategy purports to secure,” wrote the co-authors in the paper.

The authors argue for a cautious approach to AI development, rather than a competition to surpass global rivals. They introduce a unique concept—Mutual Assured AI Malfunction (MAIM)—inspired by the nuclear arms race’s Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The paper also recommends that nations participate in nonproliferation efforts and deterrence strategies, akin to their approach with nuclear weapons.

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Why It Matters: Schmidt’s concerns were amplified by President Donald Trump‘s announcement in February of a $500 billion investment in AI, dubbed the ‘Stargate Project.’ The Trump administration even reversed AI regulations implemented by the previous administration.

Even on earlier occasions, Schmidt cautioned about the West’s need to prioritize a combination of open and closed-source AI models to prevent China from taking the lead. Notably, OpenAI’s GPT-4, Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude are closed-source.

In a sharp contrast to Schmidt, Vice President, JD Vance stated "We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.” Interestingly, the U.S. and the U.K. also stayed away from signing a global AI safety declaration at the AI Action Summit in Paris in February.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.