Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence
While artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising solutions in healthcare, it also poses a number of threats to human health and well-being via social, political, economic and security-related determinants of health. We describe three such main ways misused narrow AI serves as a threat to human he...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-05-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/5/e010435.full |
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| _version_ | 1849344476197158912 |
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| author | David McCoy Frederik Federspiel Ruth Mitchell Asha Asokan Carlos Umana |
| author_facet | David McCoy Frederik Federspiel Ruth Mitchell Asha Asokan Carlos Umana |
| author_sort | David McCoy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising solutions in healthcare, it also poses a number of threats to human health and well-being via social, political, economic and security-related determinants of health. We describe three such main ways misused narrow AI serves as a threat to human health: through increasing opportunities for control and manipulation of people; enhancing and dehumanising lethal weapon capacity and by rendering human labour increasingly obsolescent. We then examine self-improving ‘artificial general intelligence’ (AGI) and how this could pose an existential threat to humanity itself. Finally, we discuss the critical need for effective regulation, including the prohibition of certain types and applications of AI, and echo calls for a moratorium on the development of self-improving AGI. We ask the medical and public health community to engage in evidence-based advocacy for safe AI, rooted in the precautionary principle. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-18b3eb4cda994aeea453c345773cdac2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-18b3eb4cda994aeea453c345773cdac22025-08-20T03:42:40ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082023-05-018510.1136/bmjgh-2022-010435Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existenceDavid McCoy0Frederik Federspiel1Ruth Mitchell2Asha Asokan3Carlos Umana4International Institute for Global Health, United Nations University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1 Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK2 International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Malden, Massachusetts, USA4 Independent Researcher/Consultant (Human Rights, International Peace and Security), Washington, DC, USA6 Co-President, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), San José, Costa RicaWhile artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising solutions in healthcare, it also poses a number of threats to human health and well-being via social, political, economic and security-related determinants of health. We describe three such main ways misused narrow AI serves as a threat to human health: through increasing opportunities for control and manipulation of people; enhancing and dehumanising lethal weapon capacity and by rendering human labour increasingly obsolescent. We then examine self-improving ‘artificial general intelligence’ (AGI) and how this could pose an existential threat to humanity itself. Finally, we discuss the critical need for effective regulation, including the prohibition of certain types and applications of AI, and echo calls for a moratorium on the development of self-improving AGI. We ask the medical and public health community to engage in evidence-based advocacy for safe AI, rooted in the precautionary principle.https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/5/e010435.full |
| spellingShingle | David McCoy Frederik Federspiel Ruth Mitchell Asha Asokan Carlos Umana Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence BMJ Global Health |
| title | Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence |
| title_full | Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence |
| title_fullStr | Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence |
| title_short | Threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence |
| title_sort | threats by artificial intelligence to human health and human existence |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/5/e010435.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidmccoy threatsbyartificialintelligencetohumanhealthandhumanexistence AT frederikfederspiel threatsbyartificialintelligencetohumanhealthandhumanexistence AT ruthmitchell threatsbyartificialintelligencetohumanhealthandhumanexistence AT ashaasokan threatsbyartificialintelligencetohumanhealthandhumanexistence AT carlosumana threatsbyartificialintelligencetohumanhealthandhumanexistence |