DeepMind hires philosopher Henry Shevlin to study AI consciousness, ethics
DeepMind just hired philosopher Henry Shevlin to help it figure out some big questions, like whether AI could ever be conscious and how it should interact with people.
Starting next month, Shevlin will focus on making sure future AI is both ethical, showing that DeepMind is serious about thinking through the tricky side of advanced tech.
Henry Shevlin's role mirrors Anthropic hire
Shevlin's role is a lot like what Anthropic did when it hired a philosopher earlier this year.
He'll guide DeepMind's AI to better understand human values and avoid conflicts between machines and people, something that's getting more attention lately with rising concerns about AI risks.
With his academic background and ongoing work at Cambridge, Shevlin seems set to help shape how tech giants handle the ethics of powerful new AI systems.