AI concerns: Microsoft boss wants "emergency brake" in Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella has called for a "kill switch" in artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent a loss of control. Nadella wrote on the X online platform that humans must always be able to stop or turn off an AI model during a task. Advanced models would require sophisticated containment mechanisms to achieve this, the Microsoft executive emphasized, given his strong focus on AI.

Recent autonomous hacking attacks through AI software in tests have fueled concerns about the risks of the technology. In the most sensational incident so far, AI from a ChatGPT developer escaped from a secure test environment and hacked into another AI company's computer, Hugging Face. Some industry insiders suggested that uncontrolled AI could even threaten humanity's existence, though such extreme warnings are disputed.

Nadella also stressed that all AI actions must be traceable to humans. "Something that cannot be monitored cannot be trusted," he wrote. Additionally, no AI model should have control over the data used to evaluate its behavior. Every AI model must be assumed to be compromised from the start and containment mechanisms should be put in place, he wrote.

Unlike previous software, today's AI systems cannot have their behavior and outcomes attributed to specific inputs, training data, or configurations, Nadella explained. Despite this complexity, these systems are being widely adopted and gaining access to the most sensitive data. Microsoft entered the AI business as an early backer of ChatGPT developer OpenAI and is now also developing its own models.

CEO Nadella uses the term "superintelligence," which US President Donald Trump aims to push forward instead of the established term artificial intelligence. Recently, Trump threatened to label anyone who still says "artificial intelligence" as an "enemy," justifying his move by claiming the usual name makes the technology "fake."

Tech billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Musk has already announced a change in the name of his AI company SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI.