Did AI cause Eco-Concerned Suicide?

by Koo Ping Shung

These days a lot of people use the Belgian guy's suicide as an example that the AI is bad and no thanks to the "click-bait" titles, this add on to the horrors that AI is going to start persuading more people to sacrifice themselves so as to save the planet from climate change. If you do not know which article I am referring to, please see below.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/03/31/man-ends-his-life-after-an-ai-chatbot-encouraged-him-to-sacrifice-himself-to-stop-climate-

Putting aside the discussion on are we "demonizing" climate change, if you happen to read the article, the Belgian guy was already in a very bad mental state and might have self-radicalised before finding "solace" in the chatbot.

Given these known circumstances, I felt that blaming the chatbot for the guy's suicide is not correct IMO. My question will be why the close family members, especially the wife, did not find time to discuss with her husband and move him towards a more healthy mental state on climate discussion rather? The chatbot became a convenient excuse to blame the suicide on.

The chatbot imo can only be blamed on NOT INTERVENING the guy from suicide. To see whether the blame established or not we will have to ask the question,"Does it really have the capabilities to detect suicidal tendency and intervene?" That we do not know till we understand the training data and the guardrails that are in place rather.

To use this example and call for a pause of 6 months on AI development is an over-reaction rather. I would have prefer that strong reaction to be towards the regulators rather,"Why aren't they working their ass off to understand the tech and start researching on policies, laws and guidelines on innovation with AI instead?"

I am for more regulations on usage and research on Artificial Intelligence, regulations that are grounded in technicals and business principles. Start putting more technical folks in the regulatory committee, involve industry in feedback, manage innovation direction but do not stifle it. Stop "demonising" AI and call a spade a spade.

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