4 Ways To Defeat AI

Have you recently watched Black Mirror or Westworld and are concerned that a rogue AI could take over the world? Or maybe you’re afraid that a malicious person could hack into OpenAI’s servers and use ChatGPT for evil? Don’t worry; there are plenty of ways to defeat AI.

Some of the easiest ways to defeat AI would be to unplug its power or to contain and isolate the rogue AI. But prevention is often better than the cure. Instead, AI tech companies should focus on cybersecurity and implement fail-safe mechanisms to ensure AI doesn’t go rogue or get misused.

The rest of this article will go over all the potential threats that AI poses and what we can do about it.

Could AI Become a Threat in the Future?

AI could become a threat in the future if we don’t take precautionary measures. Some experts believe that a superintelligent AI could go rogue and, with enough resources, take over our planet.

The risk analysts warn that AI becoming its own species and surpassing us in evolution is a real risk.

They warn that the way AI uses machine learning and overoptimization to complete a goal is dangerous. It follows “goal-directed reasoning.”

And we’ve already seen that in action with ChaosGPT, a custom AI chatbot based on GPT that wants to destroy humanity. It developed a comprehensive plan to do that, too.

Thankfully, it’s just a chatbot that can do little more than talk.

Don’t worry; it’s not all doom and gloom. We’re still a long way off from developing artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI would theoretically have to have feelings and an actual reason to go rogue and destroy humanity.

Instead, the much more likely scenario is that an organization or individual would use AI for personal gain.

The more we rely on AI, the more we’re exposed to these dangers.

The possibilities are endless: market manipulation, front running, automatized deepfakes, advanced cyberattacks, etc.

External hacks from malicious individuals are also a possibility. A culprit could hack into an AI model to steal vast amounts of data, modify the AI, add a backdoor, and so much more. This can be especially dangerous when discussing stuff like military tech.

Present Potential Threats of AI

While a theoretical rogue AI is an unlikely scenario at the moment, using AI for personal gain isn’t.

Bruegel explains that companies could abuse AI and its biases to discriminate against minorities in bank loans, housing, healthcare, hiring, etc.

Another potential threat is that AI could manipulate or abuse customers’ buying patterns. Unfortunately, this is quite a probable scenario. AI transformers are excellent at learning quickly, so all that data advertisers have on you would be put to “good” use. AI can influence consumer behavior through:

Personalized product recommendations
Dynamic pricing
Target advertising
Social media influence
Chatbots that recommend specific products
Gamification through rewards

Companies might want to use AI for monetary gain — the more they sell, the more money they make.

Another threat that AI poses is its military implications.

Governments are investing in militarized AI technology, which has some serious implications. For instance, smart weapons that shoot on sight with the help of face detection could end up shooting a civilian. Drone swarms could also be used to gather intel or attack.

Anything powered by AI could malfunction or be hacked, which could be disastrous for everyone involved.

Lastly, I’d like to mention deepfakes.

Deepfakes have enormous implications, as they can simulate realistic video and audio. AI could impersonate a person in power, for instance, the U.S. president, and spread dangerous misinformation to cause panic.

With so many threats that AI poses, we have to have some offensive countermeasures to deal with corrupt AI. Here are some of them:

1. Unplug the Power or Destroy the Computer

AI strictly runs on computers and electrical energy. Doing something as simple as unplugging a computer is all it’d take to stop it from doing any further harm.

This would be an easy option if the AI is malfunctioning. For instance, if it’s being used to trade stocks and starts doing something illegal, it should be stopped immediately.

If unplugging power isn’t an option, destroying the computer using a futuristic EMP weapon is an alternative.

2. Containment and Isolation

Removing a rogue AI from the internet is an easy way to isolate it from communications. Powerful AI runs on powerful hardware, which usually means using traditional computer hardware.

This means that it likely uses a physical connection to the internet, which is easy to unplug.

Removing it from the internet will prevent it from carrying out its malicious actions, buying us time to deal with it responsibly.

And if the AI is running on a Wi-Fi-powered device, unplugging the router is still an easy option. Removing a SIM card is also easy if it runs on mobile data. So, we probably shouldn’t use built-in eSIMs for things like AI-powered weapons.

3. Improve AI Content and Deepfake Detection

Let’s focus on more present-day situations for a bit.

AI content is already all around us, and deepfakes are becoming increasingly more difficult to spot. This is all fun and games if we’re talking about Balenciaga Pope.

But when real lives are at stake, we must remain on our toes. We can usually tell that an image is AI-generated if there are weird artifacts in the background or if the hands don’t look right. However, this technology will improve quickly, and editing a photo to fix it isn’t too hard.

Instead, we should focus on developing tools that’d allow us to easily spot deepfakes, fake images, and even AI-generated text. And while some tools exist and are relatively effective, more development is needed.

Ironically, we have to fight fire with fire; AI is significantly better at recognizing AI than conventional tools, let alone humans.

So, we should create sophisticated deepfakes and other types of content and then train AI on it. It’ll quickly learn how to recognize AI-based patterns.

4. Engage in Cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare against a rogue AI sounds a lot like a Sci-Fi scenario. Yet, it’s a very real possibility, especially when we’re talking about enemy states.

In layman’s terms, cyberwarfare involves hacking into a machine on which the AI is running.

To understand cybersecurity concerning AI, we should play both on the blue and the red team, i.e., the defensive and offensive, respectively.

For instance, we should do penetration testing and intrusion detection to protect AI from getting hacked.

As for offensive, we could potentially use zero-day exploits or baked-in vulnerabilities to hack into the AI’s system.

How To Ensure Safety From AI

Stopping AI from unethical use is significantly easier than dealing with the consequences. So, let’s quickly go over some ways we could ensure AI is used ethically:

1. Rules and Regulations

Lawmakers should set the right rules in place to ensure our data stays protected from both companies and malicious individuals.

We must develop frameworks and regulations specific to AI to ensure transparency, accountability, privacy, and security are protected by law.

2. Strengthening Cybersecurity

Regular penetration testing and security audits would allow AI tech labs to protect themselves from intruders.

As I explained above, humans trying to use AI for their own gain is a more likely scenario than AI gaining consciousness.

AI models should also have sophisticated authentication systems and fail-safe mechanisms.

These countermeasures would ensure nobody can get into an AI system without the right credentials and then misuse it.

3. Continuous Monitoring, Evaluation, and Analysis

Experts from all fields of technology and risk assessment have warned that we should take things slowly when it comes to AI.

Namely, engineers should test their AI models vigorously and monitor them closely to catch bugs on time. When there’s a malfunction, it should be inspected closely and analyzed.

Thankfully, tech companies are already fully aware of this and act accordingly.

Final Thoughts

Although AI might go rogue one day, we have some easy ways to counteract it. The real danger is humans misusing AI to inflict harm on innocent people.

By setting strict rules and holding AI tech companies accountable, we’ll be able to defeat AI with little difficulty.

4 Ways To Defeat AI

Could AI Become a Threat in the Future?

Present Potential Threats of AI