At the time of this writing, one of 2023’s biggest films is “Oppenheimer.” It’s the story of the man (played by Cillian Murphy) who built the first atom bomb to end WW2 and follows not only its effect on humanity, but its effect on Oppenheimer himself. The scientist later had some regret about undertaking the task, saying he “had blood on his hands.”
Movie director Christopher Nolan said the film serves as a cautionary tale for today new technology, AI in particular. “When you innovate through technology, you have to make sure there is accountability. The rise of companies over the last 15 years bandying about words like ‘algorithm,’ not knowing what they mean in any kind of meaningful, mathematical sense. They just don’t want to take responsibility for what that algorithm does.
And applied to AI? That’s a terrifying possibility. Terrifying. Not least because as AI systems go into the defense infrastructure, ultimately they’ll be charged with nuclear weapons, and if we allow people to say that that’s a separate entity from the person who’s wielding, programming, putting AI into use, then we’re doomed. It has to be about accountability. We have to hold people accountable for what they do with the tools that they have.”
