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Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Biology. Two sophisticated concepts, unfettered advances into which has the potential to either empower or endanger mankind. Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of Deep Mind and Inflection AI in his powerful book “The Coming Wave” calls for an urgent and determined measure of ‘containment’ when it comes to devising policies, structures, and frameworks in the domain of AI and Synthetic Biology research.

According to Suleyman, four critical and unique characteristic features of technology possess ramifications that are material in their impact, both benevolent and barbaric. The asymmetric nature of the technologies, that make it amenable for easy redistribution on account of a low entry barrier, a ‘hyper evolution’ which means that safety standards are always a pace, or two, behind the blitzkrieg pace of development, omni-use where seemingly plaid civilian use technologies may be put to insidious and violent purposes, and a degree of autonomy enabling systems to interact with their surroundings without need for any meaningful intervention by humans.

Giving techno-libertarianism a wide berth, Suleyman blows the Klaxon against even ‘smart’ AI, let alone other more powerful and controversial contenders such as Artificial General Intelligence. Warning against a literal ‘tsunami’ of tech, Suleyman alerts his readers to the deadly possibilities that may occur because of AI research going rogue. A few random selections from a frightening menu of disasters include AI-triggered cyber-attacks, permanent job losses/displacements courtesy automation, and homebrewed pathogens.

Suleyman urges tech titans and tech utopians to get rid of the attribute of “pessimism aversion” and instead take the real challenges and adverse possibilities head on. An obstinate refusal to recognise the perils of untrammeled AI does not mean that the existential crises do not exist. Adopting a ‘head buried in the sand’ approach is more a paean to escapism than an acknowledgment of situational catastrophes.

The solution offered by Suleyman is containment. Echoing the philosophy of the Cold War era in general, and George Kennan, in particular, Suleyman contends that containment is “a prerequisite for the survival of our species over the next century. Containment encompasses regulation, better technical safety, new governance and ownership models, new modes of accountability and transparency, all as necessary (but not sufficient) precursors to safer technology. It is an overarching lock uniting cutting-edge engineering, ethical values, and government regulation.”

Towards such a containment policy, Suleyman lays out 10 probable solutions which involve a concerted and cohesive, public-private partnership that also involves the full efforts of and approvals from the Government. A few notable prescriptions include:

Choke Points:

Identifying and employing with alacrity, powerful levers that will slow down the pace of development thereby providing regulators adequate time to institute, implement and monitor defensive technologies.

Alliances:

Continuously striving to create a system of international cooperation to harmonise laws and programmes. There already exists a solid set of precedents to fall back on. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, The Montreal Protocol that effectively flushed out the use of Chloro Fluouro Carbons (CFCs) are couple of effective examples of global alliances.

Government:

Curbing the current practice of an excessive reliance on consultants, Government would do well to develop in-house technical and technological expertise that would enable building and regulating technologies. Such an expertise would also place the Government in a perfect position to formulate mitigation measures too.

While the solutions proposed by Suleyman look formidable on paper, it is anybody’s guess as to whether any of them would see fruition. In a word riven by polarization and splintered by Tariff Wars and protectionism, it is highly unlikely that a respectable degree of co-operation would be attained, and commitments obtained to place a ceiling on dangerous technologies.

“The Coming Wave” – a stark, uncomfortable but highly essential wakeup call!