Former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowdensaid that artificial intelligence (AI) models may soon surpass human capabilities if they are not taught how humans think but are “allowed to be better than us”.

What happened: The President of the Foundation for Freedom of the Press, who attended the Consensus 2023 conference practically from Russia, said current training methods are reversing teaching AI models “how to think,” reported CoinDesk.

“Like children, we don’t need machines like us,” Snowden said, adding, “We need them to be better than us. And if they’re not better than us, then we’ve done a terrible job.”

See also: When Edward Snowden said this app would replace Twitter and Instagram

Snowden also pointed out that instead of fueling invasive intelligence programs, AI models could hamper government surveillance. “Maybe they could stop spying on the public and start spying for the public,” Snowden said.

“That would be net good.”

Snowden echoed the experts’ warnings that AI technologies could empower bad actors. He warned that the introduction of advanced AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT could lead to the promotion of initiatives by tech giants and governments that could invade the privacy of civilians.

Why it matters: The introduction of an advanced language model – ChatGPT – last year was a boon to AI that shocked the world with it Ability to mimic human speech and writing styles. However, it also raised concerns among experts about privacy and misuse of personal data, who argued that it is important to ensure these technologies are used responsibly and ethically.

Last month, Italy was the first western country to ban the advanced chatbot ChatGPT due to concerns about privacy issues related to the model. For the uninitiated, Italy isn’t the first country to ban emerging technology — nor is it available in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.

Continue reading: Edward Snowden Says CIA’s Default Password for ‘All Kinds of Things’…