Ridley Scott, director of sci-fi classics like “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” is terrified about AI technology running away with society.
In an interview with Rolling Stone promoting his film “Napoleon,” Scott was asked if artificial intelligence worried him, and the answer was an emphatic yes.
“We have to lock down AI. And I don’t know how you’re gonna lock it down,” he told the outlet. “They have these discussions in the government, ‘How are we gonna lock down AI?’ Are you f—ing kidding? You’re never gonna lock it down. Once it’s out, it’s out.”
He continued, “If I’m designing AI, I’m going to design a computer whose first job is to design another computer that’s cleverer than the first one. And when they get together, then you’re in trouble, because then it can take over the whole electrical-monetary system in the world and switch it off. That’s your first disaster. It’s a technical hydrogen bomb. Think about what that would mean.”
Scott also compared his concerns to his film “Blade Runner,” which starred Harrison Ford in a futuristic Los Angeles tracking down humanoid replicants.