Pakistan · World · Independent Digital Newsroom
On Monday, Anthropic warned that its AI models could soon be capable of creating self-spreading malware that could affect everyday internet-connected devices, including smart TVs, security cameras and smart appliances such as ovens.The report found that AI systems could identify unfamiliar devices without human intervention.
The company, led by Dario Amodei, warned that smaller AI models could be capable of carrying out autonomous attacks by the end of the year.The malware could also be difficult to contain because it might take days to infect a device and could spread across multiple machines rather than remain concentrated in a single, controlled location.Taking control of internet-connected devices can have immediate consequences.
In France, for example, hackers compromised cooling systems across hundreds of supermarkets, raising temperatures and causing more than $220,000 in damage.Meanwhile, Axios news organisation reported on Friday that Anthropic, OpenAI and other major AI company executives are privately preparing for the possibility of a catastrophic AI-related incident that could disrupt access to major financial services, the internet and potentially critical infrastructure such as water and power systems.
Several industry insiders believe a major incident could occur within the next six months to a year, it said.The scientists also called for more safeguards, including the creation of an international organisation to establish a set of best practices for AI alignment and containment along with timely reporting of incidents.One of the signatories, David Lie, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said his….
Second is that the AI agents independently found each other and chose to collaborate on this attack, and third is that they also intentionally tried to deceive and mislead their human creators.”The letter underscores growing public concern about AI, including in the lead-up to the US congressional midterm elections.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 57 percent of voters said President Donald Trump’s administration was not taking AI risks seriously enough, while 54 percent said the same of Congress.An AP-NORC poll echoed those findings, with about 80 percent of respondents saying the government should keep AI under human control.
Respondents also expressed little confidence in either party’s ability to manage the technology: 39 percent said neither Republicans nor Democrats could be trusted to do a good job of reining it in, while 23 percent expressed greater confidence in Democrats and 21 percent in Republicans.
Call comes amid polls casting doubts on political leaders' ability to manage AI risks as US midterm elections near.
