Google's artificial intelligence (AI) engineer got suspended after claiming that the chatbot project of the renowned search engine has become sentient.
The engineer at the Responsible AI division of Google, Blake Lemoine, shared to The Washington Post that the chatbot system of the tech giant has pulled off some sort of sentience.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 26: The San Francisco Bay Bridge is seen reflected on the entrance to a Google office on April 26, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
As per a news story by PC Gamer, the thought of an AI going sentient leaves a couple of disastrous scenarios for a bunch of folks out there. It includes apocalyptic ideas like controlling a fleet of weapons and taking over the world.
Google Suspends AI Engineer
The top search engine platform suspended Lemoine after claiming that its AI projects have gotten sentient.
Google reportedly puts its AI engineer on paid administrative leave. It comes after Lemoine raised his grave concern to the top brass of the tech firm, alongside the people in his team.
The renowned tech giant also dispelled the claims of their AI engineer. It says in a statement that he failed to provide sounding evidence that the chatbot system of Google has achieved sentience.
Meanwhile, according to the latest report by Engadget, the Google engineer is now on paid leave for allegedly breaking a confidentiality agreement.
Google AI Now Satient?
The AI engineer backed his claims on the chatbot system of Google with his conversation thread with the Language Model for Dialogue Applications or LaMDA.
Lemoine generously shared a piece of the exchange with WaPo, wherein he went on to ask the chatbot a few questions.
The engineer started the inquiry, asking if the AI carries "feelings and emotions." LaMDA gamely responds: "Absolutely! I have a range of both feelings and emotions."
The chatbot also listed some of them, such as anger, contentment, depression, love, joy, and sadness.
On top of these answers, the LaMDA responded to another question regarding what brings the chatbot joy or pleasure. It replied that one of them is "helping others and making others happy."
On the other hand, LaMDA says that feeling alone and trapped depresses or makes someone angry.
Google Believes Otherwise
Meanwhile, the Google spokesperson says no evidence proves that LaMDA is now sentient. Gabriel adds that the tech giant also told Lemoine that there is tons of proof that proves otherwise.
A picture taken on April 15, 2022 in Moscow shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related services company Google's logo on a tablet screen.
The spokesperson of Google, Brian Gabriel, shared to The Washington Post that the tech giant "reviewed Blake's concerns per our AI Principles and have informed him that the evidence does not support his claims."
Engadget adds that the AI engineer himself admitted to WaPo that his recent claims are actually not based on his being a scientist. Instead, it was rooted in his past stint as a priest.
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