One of the most knowledgeable and respected voices in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is Mustapha Suleyman, co-founder in 2010 of DeepMind, a London-based company at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence research and development. DeepMind was acquired by Google in 2014.

One notable achievement while Suleyman was with DeepMind was the development of AI systems capable of diagnosing certain medical conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration, from eye scans, with a high degree of accuracy. This project demonstrated the potential of AI to assist in disease diagnosis.

Suleyman also established the Ethics & Society unit at DeepMind to focus on the ethical implications and societal impacts of AI technology. He is at the forefront of discussions and debates regarding AI ethics. 

He emphasizes the need for accountability and social responsibility in technology, and advocates especially for a containment strategy for a technology that is doubling in power and speed every few months. 

Suleyman co-founded inflection.ai, a company focused on developing advanced natural language processing capabilities. Inflection’s flagship AI product Pi is designed to enable more natural and conversational interactions between humans and machines.

In early 2024, he joined Microsoft as head of their new AI division. “This move signifies a major shift in the tech landscape, highlighting Microsoft’s dedication to leading in AI innovation and ethics,” the YouTube podcast AI Revolution asserted.

While observers more skeptical of Microsoft may not share that view, there is no doubt that Suleyman’s new position gives him a much bigger platform from which he can advocate for the establishment of AI boundaries and ethical AI standards and practices.

What is the real danger of AI?

Suleyman continues to call attention to the dangers of AI, both the big-picture singularity problem with AI and other more specific dangers of misusing the technology, such as autonomous weapons and myriad cybersecurity risks. 

AI singularity is a hypothetical future point where artificial intelligence advances beyond human control and understanding. This could lead to rapid and irreversible changes in society and result in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization.

The concept of AI singularity may seem like science fiction, but the threat is very real, especially if and when bad actors misuse the technology. Moreover, the intense competition—the so-called AI race—to develop greater and greater AI capabilities further risks the development of dangerous AI technologies. 

So, how dangerous is AI, according to Suleyman?

“Every organization is going to race to get their hands on intelligence, and that’s going to be incredibly disruptive,” Suleyman warned in a recent interview with Diary of a CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett. “A tiny group of people who wish to cause harm are going to have access to tools that can instantly destabilize our world. That’s the challenge: how to stop something that can cause harm and potentially kill. That’s where we need containment.”

“Do you think that it is containable?” Bartlett asked.

“It has to be.”

“Is it possible?”

“It must be possible.”

“Why must it be?”

“Because otherwise it contains us.”

“Yet you chose to build a company in this space. Why?”

“Because I want to design an AI that’s on your side,” Suleyman answered. “I honestly think that if we succeed everything is a lot cheaper. It’s going to power new forms of transportation, reduce the cost of health care….

“There is something incredibly inevitable about this technology and we have to wrap our arms around it and guide it and control it as a collective species, as humanity.

“I think the more influence that we as a species have over the collective outcome, the more empowering it is. Because on the face of it, this is really going to be the tool that helps us tackle all the challenges we’re facing as a species. We need to fix water desalination; we need to grow food 100X cheaper than we currently do; we need renewable energy to be ubiquitous.”

What are the benefits of AI?

Suleyman believes that despite the dangers of AI, it can be of tremendous benefit to human society as well. He says:

“Training machines to help us as aids, scientific research partners, inventors, creators, is absolutely essential. And so the upside is phenomenal; it’s enormous.

“But AI isn’t just a thing. It’s not an inevitable whole. Its form isn’t inevitable. Its form, the exact way that it manifests and appears in our everyday lives, and the way that it’s governed and who it’s owned by and how it’s trained, that is a question that is up to us collectively as a species to figure out over the next decade. Because if we don’t embrace that challenge then it happens to us.”

Listen to the full podcast here: Diary of a CEO podcast. 

Tools to manage the threats posed by AI

Suleyman’s views on AI’s future and its ethical considerations highlight the immense potential and challenges of this technology. He advocates for balanced approaches to AI development. This includes prioritizing foundational technical safety work, auditing of AI systems, and the creation of responsible cultures within companies. 

He also sees a critical need for international cooperation in managing the risks associated with AI. He believes there is a need to establish an international governance regime for AI—sooner than later.

Suleyman details his approach to the dangers of AI in his 2023 book The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma, co-written with Michael Bhaskar. The book discusses the dangers of unconstrained AI, including synthetic biology technologies. The authors also cover the challenges of containing these dangers and propose solutions to mitigate the risks.

Suleyman’s insights and initiatives in AI reflect a deep understanding of both its transformative potential and the ethical dilemmas it presents. 

As AI continues to evolve, his work and views are likely to remain influential in shaping the discourse on AI development and the direction it should take to minimize the dangers and maximize the positive societal impact of this powerful new technology.