AI is not just coming for your job
Hundreds of citizens have submitted testimonies to PauseAI detailing the negative impact AI is having on their job, education and wellbeing.
This is part of a campaign organised by PauseAI entitled AI is not just coming for your job. The campaign brings attention to the harms associated with AI and points out that given the acceleration of AI development, these harms are likely to become more severe and even catastrophic.
Statements have been received from people across Europe, North America, Africa and Australia, ranging from students daunted by the prospect of AI replacing humans in the workplace to lecturers concerned about the catastrophic risk posed by the technology.
These worries seem to be justified: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that 60 percent of roles in advanced economies will be impacted by AI.
Economic disruption is the tip of the iceberg
According PauseAI’s organising director, Irina Tavera, the public has a spectrum of concerns when it comes to AI development: “The testimonies we’ve received tell us that people are already feeling the impact of AI in the workplace, in universities and at home.”
“They also tell us that people are worried about the risks: cyber threats, nuclear and biological warfare, a total loss of control.”
In the largest-ever survey of AI researchers, respondents put the average probability of human extinction or similarly severe outcomes from advanced AI at 5 percent, while more than a third (38 percent) put it at 10 percent or higher.
Hundreds of top AI researchers and the CEOs of OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic have signed an open statement declaring that “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
Coordinated events
Since April, Pause AI chapters in 15 countries have organised 30 events to raise awareness of the growing threat posed by AI. These culminated in labour day demonstrations at the beginning of May.
PauseAI France held four demonstrations on 1 May, in Prague the PauseAI chapter hosted an ideathon to give residents an opportunity to voice their concerns, while in Spain the PauseAI chapter held a series of discussions attracting around 200 attendees.
PauseAI UK held a number of events, partnering with Debate London and the English Speaking Union for a debate on “Is AI Really Humanities Greatest Threat?” and Pull the Plug to host a talk by Jess Rapson, Director of the Algorithmic Governance Foundation.
Join PauseAI
“PauseAI, our thousands of members and all of the concerned citizens that have shared their stories are asking for the same thing: a legally-binding treaty to pause the development of frontier AI systems,” Irina Tavera added.
If you are concerned about the impact of AI – right now or in the future – PauseAI is working to bring all stakeholders together: citizens, civil society, politicians and industry.
Through peaceful and democratic means, including through protest and dialogue, we are building the public movement that will force decision makers to implement a pause in the development of frontier AI systems.