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Tue 14 Jun 2022 — updated 9 Oct 2023
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Google employee Blake Lemoine has been put on paid leave after claiming that Lamda AI - an artificial intelligence chatbot - had become sentient.
Google employee Lemoine had requested respect towards one of the firm's artificial intelligence tools after reportedly finding that the system had the perception of, and the ability to express thoughts and feelings equivalent to, a human child.
Google has denied all claims that Lamda AI has become sentient and has subsequently placed Lemoine on paid leave.
The firm states that the 'Language Model for Dialogue Applications' (Lamda) is a breakthrough technology that can engage in free-flowing conversations. Lemoine was working on the model, testing the AI's ability to generate discriminatory language or hate speech. However, the tool's impressive verbal skills led the scientist to believe it had developed a sentient mind.
To support his claims, Lemoine shared a document with company executives containing a transcript of his conversations with the AI. After his concerns were dismissed, the scientist decided to publish the transcript via his Medium account, in which the tool gave convincing responses regarding the rights and ethics of robotics.
Image credit: Foto 132826092 © Blackboard373 | Dreamstime.com.
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