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One of the biggest threats facing the planet is a super-pandemic, warns Google's AI chief.
Mustafa Suleyman is the billionaire founder of the computer giant's artificial intelligence division but warns it's not robots that pose the most danger to mankind.
He claims the ability to cook up a deadly pandemic at home is likely to become commonplace before the end of this decade.
READ MORE: AI could become 'superhuman' and will 'ultimately destroy us', scientist fears
Mustafa says that in the next five years or so, a "kid in Russia” could download the instruction set for a pandemic that’s “more lethal” than anything we have encountered so far.
He told the Diary of a CEO Podcast: : “That's where we need containment. We have to limit access to the tools and the know-how to carry out that kind of experimentation.
“We really are experimenting with dangerous materials.
“Anthrax is not something that can be bought over the Internet that can be freely experimented with.
“The very best of these tools in a few years time are going to be capable of creating new synthetic pandemic pathogens and so we have to restrict access to those things.”
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'AI Godfather' regrets his work and warns 'we need to worry' about 'scary' bots
Discussing the future of genetic engineering, he warned: "I think that the darkest scenario there is that people will experiment with …synthetic pathogens that might end up accidentally or intentionally being more transmissible; they they can spread faster, or be more lethal…"
Similarly, he says, advanced AI technology is getting cheaper and easier to obtain at an alarming rate thanks to the tech being made "open".
It means anyone can get their hands on the technology – and use it to help them cheat on their exams or cook up a virus that could paralyse the world.
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Elon Musk warns AI 'is dangerous to civilisation' if we start to rely on it
That’s why, Mustafa says, an international treaty – including America’s perceived enemies such as Russia and China – needs to be agreed to limit the use of advanced AI and genetic manipulation.
“There's a shared goal that is between us and China and every other …’enemy’ that we want to create we've all got a shared interest in advancing the collective health and well-being of humans and Humanity,” he says.
- Artificial Intelligence
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