AI 'kill switch' may need to be mandatory, Anthropic co-founder tells BBC

An artificial intelligence "kill switch" which can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for companies, a co-founder of one of the world's largest AI firms has told the BBC.

Jack Clark, one of seven founders of Anthropic, said a way of shutting off AI software completely if it gets too dangerous was something society "might want to eventually pass rules around".

Clark said "most labs have different ways of being able to pull the plug", including Anthropic, but said lawmakers may need to enforce having one.

AI's rapid development and fears over the risks it poses to humanity have been thrust into the spotlight by a series of warnings from executives and staff at AI firms.

Some have said publicly there is a chance the technology could, if unchecked, kill all humans.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei over the weekend called for the pace of AI development to slow and be more closely monitored, as the company has done before, though some have questioned the motivations behind this.

Amodei added that any action to rein in AI development should be done "without sacrificing commercial advantage".

Clark told the BBC that specifics around "kill switch" requirements and verification should be part of "the larger policy conversation" taking place around AI.

"Should you mandate for companies to definitely have a kill switch? Is that kill switch verifiable by a third party?" he asked.

"I think that's the kind of thing society is going to want to know and might want to eventually pass rules around."

Anthropic, which was formed in 2021 by a group of former employees of its rival OpenAI, is currently at the centre of a debate around AI safety.

Last week, a post from an artificial intelligence researcher who quit Anthropic over concerns AI could wipe out humanity went viral.