Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been described as the “biggest challenge of our times” Henry Kissinger, the former top diplomat. Kissinger predicts that machines could potentially replace humans within the next five years. He expressed these concerns during a conversation with Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Axel Springer, which was published Welt TV, a German news outlet.
Axel Springer is the parent company of Insider and Die Welt. Since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, the potential of AI to replace humans in various jobs, especially white-collar professions, has been a growing concern. Jobs in technology, media, law, market research analysis, education, trade, graphic design, accounting, and customer service are among the most vulnerable to AI replacements, according to experts.
Kissinger, who is 100 years old, worries that AI could become so powerful that it leads to a dystopian future where humans serve machines instead of the other way around. He believes that understanding the essence of AI is critical in order to avoid this outcome. Kissinger co-wrote a book called “The Age of AI and Our Human Future” with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and computer scientist Daniel Huttenlocher, exploring the potential impact of AI on knowledge, politics, and society. He is currently working on a second book on the same topic.
The question of whether AI will replace humans is, according to Kissinger, the “question of our lifetime.” He emphasizes the importance of all countries, including China and other advanced nations, joining efforts to understand and control AI. Kissinger’s biggest fear lies in generative AI, specifically algorithms like ChatGPT that can create content based on prompts and context. He believes that once these machines can communicate with each other, which may happen within the next five years, it becomes a competition between the human species and AI for individuality.
To address these challenges, Kissinger has started bringing scientists together to promote freedom and coexistence in the world. He stresses that understanding and addressing AI is crucial, as it is currently not well understood. The future of AI and its impact on humanity is a topic that requires immediate attention and collaboration.