'Treat AI as threat to the human race'

ARTIFICIAL intelligence risks human extinction and should be treated like other global threats such as nuclear war, experts have warned.

- Amy-Clare Martin

Some of the biggest names in the field signed a statement highlighting the risks of what they're working on.

It says: "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war."

The message was organised by the Centre for AI Safety, a San Francisco-based non-profit group that aims "to reduce societal-scale risks from AI".

It said the use of AI in warfare could be "extremely harmful" as it could be used to develop chemical weapons and enhance aerial combat.