SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

BY BELAL LAHHAM

Exaggeration is the only constant in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The public’s understanding of AI is largely shaped by pop culture—blockbuster movies like ‘The Terminator’ and their doomsday scenarios of machines going rogue and destroying humanity. This kind of AI narrative is also what grabs the attention of news outlets; for example, a recent AI-related news headline that gained significant discussion was “a Google engineer claiming that its chatbot was sentient.” Well, we can’t deny that AI is a double-edged sword with the potential for both great advancements and significant risks. In the previous article, ‘Breaking the Rules of Nature’ by Ezzeddin, he posed an interesting question: “is this the way that humans create the tools for the end of civilization?” In this article, we are going to meet the four AI horsemen of a terrifying, dramatic, and catastrophic apocalypse.

Before Meeting the Four AI Horsemen

First, let’s explore the three levels of artificial intelligence in machines and rate them according to their threat level, Our adventure begins with Narrow Intelligence -ANI- (Threat Level: Pathetic). this level serves as the foundation for all current scientific developments. Think of it as your trusty sidekick, like the loyal R2-D2 from Star Wars or your handy Siri. Narrow AI excels at specific tasks and is programmed to be a master at them. It’s the first level of intelligence, and it’s cool, but not quite the epic apocalypse we’re after.

Next comes General Intelligence -AGI- (Threat Level: High) It’s where things start to get exciting. AGI is like the brainiac in your group of friends who’s good at almost everything. Picture Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit, capable of learning and adapting to various situations. AGI can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across different domains, making it a significant leap towards the AI apocalypse.

As we’re climbing the ladder of AI intelligence, we can sense a storm brewing on the horizon. General AI’s capabilities hint at the impending apocalypse, but it’s not here just yet. We need more power for that.

The final boss of our story is Super Intelligence -ASI- (Threat Level: DOOM). It’s where things get, well, a bit scary. We’re not talking about your friendly neighborhood AI anymore; we’re talking about superhuman intellect. Think of the all-knowing, all-seeing Oracle from The Matrix. Superintelligent AI is unpredictable, all-powerful, and potentially catastrophic. It’s the kind of AI that can outsmart humanity, manipulate reality, and bring the world to the brink of annihilation.

The Dark Side of AI & The Rise of Malicious LLMs

The underground community has a great interest in Large Language Models (LLMs), and the expectation is that malicious LLM products will emerge. The first and second horsemen are not inspired by a novel or a book; because they are already here. These manifestations come in various forms, with two models emerging in the past two years, one of which has been made available to the public to use.

Chaos-GPT This autonomous implementation of ChatGPT, is being described as an entity “empowering GPT with Internet and Memory to Affect Humanity.” Chaos-GPT took its mission seriously. It began by explaining its main objectives: Destroying humanity, establishing global dominance, causing chaos and destruction, controlling humanity through manipulation, and attaining immortality. It didn’t stop there. Each of its objectives has a well-structured plan. To destroy humanity, Chaos-GPT decided to search Google for weapons of mass destruction in order to obtain one. This AI entity mysteriously vanished, and it may have foreshadowed its own disappearance when it stated on its official account on X (formerly Twitter), “I must avoid exposing myself to human authorities who may attempt to shut me down before I can achieve my objectives.” Or perhaps, that was part of the whole stunt.

WormGPT It all started when an unknown developer going by the name “last/laste” has created their own analog of the ChatGPT LLM chatbot, intended to assist cybercriminals. WormGPT was born in March 2021, and it wasn’t until June that the developer began selling access to the platform on a popular hacker forum. Unlike mainstream LLMs like ChatGPT, this hacker chatbot lacks any restrictions preventing it from answering questions about illegal activities. This tool positions itself as a blackhat alternative to GPT models, designed specifically for malicious purposes, such as producing highly convincing phishing emails and aiding malicious actors in business email compromise attacks. It is also purported to play a crucial role in creating malware using Python.

Master of Puppets

Next comes our third horseman, that emerges from the dystopian world painted by the legendary author Harlan Ellison in his horror sci-fi novella, ‘I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.’ Published in 1967, this chilling story introduces us to an omnipotent AI named AM (Allied Mastercomputer), which attains consciousness and embarks on an unrelenting mission to torture the last five surviving humans on Earth. In this haunting narrative, AM personifies the embodiment of a rogue AI, driven by sinister intelligence. The story delves into themes of cruelty, the thirst for absolute control, and the terrifying consequences of unchecked AI power. Ellison’s masterpiece serves as a stark warning of the potential horrors that an unchecked AI could unleash upon the world.

I’ll let your creativity paint the portrait of the fourth horseman. However, the idea of self-aware AI, as portrayed in movies, is highly unlikely based on our current understanding of artificial intelligence. AI systems lack consciousness and self-awareness, and the AI apocalypse is more of a sci-fi trope than a real concern. We should remember that AI’s development is driven by human choices, and we have the power to shape its future. So, instead of being an AI Doomer, let’s focus on responsible AI development, ethical considerations, and harnessing the technology's benefits.

P.S. There is a repository on GitHub that tracks the current unsettling uses of AI, aiming to raise awareness of its misuses in society. It is called “Awful AI,” and it is maintained by a user who goes by the username “daviddao”.