Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta, has said that AI language systems are "quite stupid." He made the comments in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, while discussing the company's decision to open-source its large language model, Llama 2.
Clegg said that the hype around AI has "somewhat run ahead of the technology." He argued that current AI language systems are not as intelligent as some people believe, and that they are still "far short" of being able to pose a threat to humanity.
"In many ways, they're quite stupid," Clegg said. "They're basically joining dots in enormous datasets of text, and guessing the next word in a sequence."
Clegg's comments come at a time when there is growing concern about the potential dangers of AI. Some experts have warned that AI could eventually become so intelligent that it could pose a existential threat to humanity.
However, Clegg argued that the risks of AI are often overstated. He said that the technology is still in its early stages, and that it is important to be realistic about what it can and cannot do.
"I think we need to be careful about the hype," Clegg said. "We need to be careful about the scaremongering."
Clegg's comments have been met with mixed reactions. Some people have praised him for speaking out against the hype around AI, while others have criticized him for downplaying the risks of the technology.
Only time will tell whether Clegg is right about the dangers of AI. However, his comments have certainly sparked a debate about the future of this powerful technology.