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Bridging near- and long-term concerns about AI

Nature Machine Intelligence volume 1, pages 5–6 (2019)Cite this article

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Debate about the impacts of AI is often split into two camps, one associated with the near term and the other with the long term. This divide is a mistake — the connections between the two perspectives deserve more attention, say Stephen Cave and Seán S. ÓhÉigeartaigh.

These two sets of issues are often seen as entirely disconnected1. Researchers working on near-term issues see longer-term issues as a distraction from real and pressing challenges8, or as too distant, uncertain or speculative to allow for productive work now9. On the other hand, those focused on longer-term challenges argue that their potential impact dwarfs that of present-day systems7, and that these issues therefore deserve a proportionate share of research attention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Stephen Cave & Seán S. ÓhÉigeartaigh

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  1. Stephen Cave
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  2. Seán S. ÓhÉigeartaigh
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Correspondence to Stephen Cave or Seán S. ÓhÉigeartaigh.

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Cave, S., ÓhÉigeartaigh, S.S. Bridging near- and long-term concerns about AI. Nat Mach Intell 1, 5–6 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-018-0003-2

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