Technology minister Paul Scully has cautioned against exaggerating the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) to humanity by downplaying its potential benefits.
A malicious AI "Skynet" system bent on eradicating humanity is envisioned in the sci-fi film series The Terminator.
A number of companies issued warnings last week that AI might be dangerous for people.
As he prepares to visit the US, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will talk about a variety of topics, including AI.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a computer's capacity to carry out tasks that typically require human intelligence.
There was a "dystopian point of view on AI that we can follow here. A utopian viewpoint is also present. At the TechUK Tech Policy Leadership Conference in Westminster, Mr. Scully stated that both were conceivable.
A dystopia is a fictional setting where everything is as bad as it can possibly be.
"If you're only discussing the extinction of humanity due to some rogue, Terminator-style scenario, you're going to miss out on all of the positive effects that AI is already having, such as how it's mapping proteins to aid in medical research and combating climate change.
All of those things are already being done by it, and it will only get better at them. " .
The government recently released a policy document on AI regulation, but it was criticized for not creating a specific watchdog, and some believe that additional measures may eventually be required to deal with the most potent future systems.
A ban on the most potent AI may be necessary, according to Marc Warner, a member of the AI Council, an expert group established to advise the government. Warner made this statement to BBC News last week.
But he asserted that "narrow AI" created for specific purposes, such as programs that scan medical images for cancer, should be subject to the same regulations as current technology.
We are not complacent about the potential risks of AI, but it also offers significant opportunities, the prime minister's spokesperson said in response to reports on the potential risks the technology may pose.
Without guardrails in place, we can't move forward with AI. ".
According to Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary for Labour, there is "a level of hysteria going on and that's certainly dominating the public debate at the moment, but there are real opportunities with the development of a technology like AI.".
"But we do have to think really carefully about the risks, make sure we've got good regulation in place," she continued. ".
It was crucial that the effects of AI were felt by everyone and that they "didn't just go to the big tech giants in the US as happened in the last technological revolution.". .
Earlier, Ms. Powell told the Guardian that she believed AI should be licensed similarly to how drugs or nuclear power are, both of which have specific regulators.
A global regulator for highly intelligent AI, akin to the International Atomic Energy Agency, may be required, according to a recent blog post by the AI company OpenAI.
Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, said during the same event that the most potent AIs might require safety permits to operate.
"A model must pass a safety review of some sort before it can be deployed. " .
Mr. Smith argued that a single regulatory model and global cooperation would be preferable. The UK and US, according to him, are in a good position to cooperate when it comes to cyber and national security.
At the event, he told reporters that Microsoft would not join "the fear parade," adding that it would be preferable to tone down the rhetoric and concentrate more on the pressing issues at hand.
Other experts have concurred that concentrating on disaster scenarios out of science fiction serves as a diversion from the pressing problems with AI, such as the possibility of bias in algorithms due to race or gender.
