The rapid development of AI calls into question the achievement of immortality, said former US presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan in a conversation with Decrypt.
"When I first started getting involved in the [transhumanist] movement, I believed that we had only 20 years left to achieve extreme life extension. But now, thanks to ChatGPT, I think general artificial intelligence (AGI) will appear long before the advent of biotechnology, which allows you to live forever," he said.
According to the expert, general artificial intelligence poses a threat due to the singularity, within which AI will no longer be controlled by humans.
"So perhaps our main threat to achieving immortality or life without limits is artificial intelligence, the scenario from Terminator. I'm not saying it's going to happen for sure. What I'm trying to say is that when I started doing AI in the field of life extension, we were moving at the same pace, and suddenly, over the past two years, ChatGPT and AI have gone much faster than life sciences," Istvan stressed.
The former presidential candidate fears that AI, instead of helping humanity achieve a transhumanistic future, will decide not to do so for various reasons.
"I'm worried it's only going to be a year before [AI] says, 'Why would I create synthetic human organs for humans if you guys are destroying the planet' or something like that. Suddenly the AI will say, “I'm just not interested in helping people.” This would be a logical reaction for any species that is becoming very powerful," the expert noted.
Despite his concerns, he is optimistic about the possibility of using technology to significantly prolong life, replace limbs and connect the brain to computers.
The implementation of neural chips is currently being handled by Elon Musk's Neuralink company. In June, she successfully implanted a brain chip implant in the first volunteer, and recently planned a second similar operation.
Recall that in July, Ben Herzel, CEO of the decentralized AI network SingularityNET, spoke about how artificial intelligence is bringing humanity closer to a transhumanistic future.