Synthetic intelligence is on everyone’s lips nowadays, sparking pleasure, worry and countless debates. Is it a drive for good or unhealthy – or a drive we even have but to completely perceive? We sat down with outstanding pc scientist and AI researcher Mária Bieliková to debate these and different urgent points surrounding AI, its impression on humanity, and broader moral dilemmas and questions of belief it raises.
Congratulations on turning into the most recent laureate of the ESET Science Award. How does it really feel to win the award?
I really feel immense gratitude and happiness. Receiving the award from Emmanuelle Charpentier herself was an unbelievable expertise, stuffed with intense feelings. This award would not simply belong to me – it belongs to all of the outstanding individuals who accompanied me on this journey. I consider they had been all equally thrilled. In IT and likewise in applied sciences generally, outcomes are achieved by groups, not people.
I am delighted that that is the primary time the primary class of the award has gone to the sector of IT and AI. 2024 was additionally the primary 12 months the Nobel Prize was awarded for progress in AI. Actually, there have been 4 Nobel Prizes for AI-related innovations – two in Physics for Machine Studying of Neural Networks and two in Chemistry for coaching Deep Neural Networks that predict protein buildings.
And naturally, I really feel immense pleasure for the Kempelen Institute of Clever Applied sciences, which was established 4 years in the past and now holds a secure place within the AI ecosystem of Central Europe.
A number one Slovak pc scientist, Mária Bieliková has carried out intensive analysis in human-computer interplay evaluation, person modelling and personalization. Her work additionally extends to the information evaluation and modelling of delinquent conduct on the internet, and she or he’s a outstanding voice within the public discourse about reliable AI, the unfold of disinformation, and the way AI can be utilized to fight the difficulty. She additionally co-founded and at present heads up the Kempelen Institute of Clever Applied sciences (KInIT), the place ESET acts as a mentor and accomplice. Ms. Bieliková not too long ago gained the Excellent Scientist in Slovakia class of the ESET Science Award.
Writer and historian Yuval Noah Harari has made the pithy commentary that for the primary time in human historical past, nobody is aware of what the world will appear to be in 20 years or what to show in faculties right this moment. As somebody deeply concerned in AI analysis, how do you envision the world twenty years from now, significantly when it comes to know-how and AI? What are the abilities and competencies that can as soon as be important for right this moment’s kids?
The world has at all times been tough, unsure, and ambiguous. At present, know-how accelerates these challenges in ways in which folks battle to handle in actual time, making it laborious to foresee the results. AI not solely helps us automate our actions and exchange people in numerous fields, but additionally create new buildings and artificial organisms, which might probably trigger new pandemics.
Even when we didn’t anticipate such eventualities, know-how is consciously or unconsciously used to divide teams and societies. It is now not simply digital viruses aiming to paralyze infrastructure or acquire sources; it is a direct manipulation of human considering by propaganda unfold on the pace of sunshine and magnitude we could not have imagined just a few a long time in the past.
I don’t know what sort of society we’ll stay in 20 years from now or how the principles of humanity will change. It’d take longer, however we’d even be capable of alter our meritocratic system, at present primarily based on the analysis of data, in a means that doesn’t divide society. Maybe we’ll change the best way we deal with knowledge as soon as we notice we will not totally belief our senses.
I’m satisfied that even our kids will more and more deviate from the necessity for data and evaluating success in numerous assessments, together with IQ assessments. Information will stay vital, but it surely should be data that we are able to apply. What’s going to really matter is the power individuals are prepared to put money into doing significant issues. That is true right this moment, however we regularly underutilize this angle when discussing training. We nonetheless consider cognitive abilities and data regardless of realizing these competencies alone are inadequate in the true world right this moment.
I consider that as know-how advances, our want for robust communities and the event of social and emotional abilities will solely develop.
As AI continues to advance, it challenges long-standing philosophical concepts about what it means to be human. Do you suppose René Descartes’ commentary about human exceptionalism, “I believe, due to this fact I’m”, will have to be re-evaluated in an period the place machines can “suppose”? How far do you consider we’re from AI programs that may push us to redefine human consciousness and intelligence?
AI programs, particularly the massive basis fashions, are revolutionizing the best way AI is utilized in society. They’re frequently bettering. Earlier than the tip of 2024, OpenAI introduced new fashions, O3 and O3mini, which achieved vital developments in all assessments, together with the ARC-AGI benchmark that measures AI’s effectivity in buying abilities for unknown duties.
From this, one would possibly assume that we’re near reaching Synthetic Normal Intelligence (AGI). Personally, I consider we aren’t fairly there with present know-how. We’ve got superb programs that may help in programming sure duties, reply quite a few questions, and in lots of assessments, they carry out higher than people. Nonetheless, they don’t really perceive what they’re doing. Due to this fact, we can not but speak about real considering, regardless that some reasoning behind process decision is already being accomplished by machines.
Simply as we perceive phrases like intelligence and consciousness right this moment, we are able to say that AI possesses a sure degree of intelligence – that means it has the power to unravel advanced issues. Nonetheless, as of now, it lacks consciousness. Primarily based on the way it features, AI doesn’t have the potential to really feel and use feelings within the duties it’s given. Whether or not it will ever change, or if our understanding of those ideas will evolve, is tough to foretell.
The notion that “to create is human” is being more and more questioned as AI programs turn into able to producing artwork, music, and literature. In your view, how does the rise of generative AI impression the human expertise of creativity? Does it improve or diminish our sense of identification and uniqueness as creators?
At present, we witness many debates on creativity and AI. Individuals devise numerous assessments to showcase how far AI has come and the place these AI programs or fashions surpass human capabilities. AI can generate photographs, music, and literature, a few of which might be thought-about inventive, however definitely not in the identical means as human creativity.
AI programs can and do create authentic artifacts. Though they generate them from pre-existing supplies, we might nonetheless discover some really new creations. However that is not the one vital side. Why do folks create artwork, and why do folks watch, learn, and take heed to artwork? At its essence, artwork helps folks discover and strengthen relationships with each other.
Artwork is an inseparable a part of our lives; with out it, our society could be very completely different. This is the reason we are able to respect AI-generated music or work – AI was created by people. Nonetheless, I don’t consider AI-generated artwork would fulfill us long-term to the identical extent as actual artwork created by people, or by people with the help of know-how.
Simply as we develop applied sciences, we additionally search causes to stay and to stay meaningfully. We would stay in a meritocracy the place we attempt to measure every thing, however what brings us nearer collectively and characterizes us are tales. Sure, we might generate these too, however I’m speaking concerning the tales that we stay.
AI analysis has seen fluctuations in progress over the a long time, however the current tempo of development – particularly in machine studying and generative AI – has stunned even many consultants. How briskly is simply too quick? Do you suppose this speedy progress is sustainable and even fascinating? Ought to we decelerate AI innovation to higher perceive its societal impacts, or does slowing down threat stifling helpful breakthroughs?
The pace at which new fashions are rising and bettering is unprecedented. That is largely because of the means our world features right this moment – an enormous focus of wealth in personal corporations and sure elements of the world, in addition to a world race in a number of fields. AI is a major a part of these races.
To some extent, progress is dependent upon the exhaustion of right this moment’s know-how and the event of recent approaches. How a lot can we enhance present fashions with recognized strategies? To what extent will large corporations share new approaches? Given the excessive price of coaching giant fashions, will we simply be observers of bettering black bins?
At current, there is no such thing as a stability between the programs humanity can create and our understanding of their results on our lives. Slowing down, given how our society works, is just not potential, in my view, with no paradigm shift.
This is the reason it’s essential to allocate sources and power to analysis the results of those programs and to review the fashions themselves, not simply by standardized assessments as their creators do. For instance, on the Kempelen Institute, we analysis the abilities and willingness of fashions to generate disinformation. Not too long ago, we now have additionally been wanting into the technology of customized disinformation.
There’s a number of pleasure round AI’s potential to unravel world challenges – from healthcare to local weather change. The place do you consider the promise of AI is biggest when it comes to sensible and moral functions? Can AI be the “technological repair” for a few of humanity’s most urgent points, or can we threat overestimating its capabilities?
AI can assist us sort out essentially the most urgent points whereas concurrently creating new ones. The world is stuffed with paradoxes, and with AI, we see this at each flip. AI has been helpful in numerous fields. Healthcare is one such space the place, with out AI, some progress – for instance, in growing new drugs – wouldn’t be potential, or we must wait for much longer. AlphaFold, which predicts the construction of proteins, has huge potential and has been used for years now.
Alternatively, AI additionally permits the creation of artificial organisms, which will be helpful but additionally pose dangers equivalent to pandemics or different unexpected conditions.
AI assists in spreading disinformation and manipulating folks’s ideas on points like local weather change, whereas on the identical time, it will possibly assist folks perceive that local weather change is actual. AI fashions can show the potential penalties for our planet if we proceed on our present path. That is essential, as folks are likely to focus solely on short-term challenges and infrequently underestimate the seriousness of the state of affairs except it immediately impacts them.
Nonetheless, AI can solely assist us to the extent that we, as people, permit it to. That is the largest problem. Since AI would not perceive what it produces, it has no intentions. However folks do.
With nice potential additionally come vital dangers. Distinguished figures in tech and AI have expressed considerations about AI turning into an existential menace to humanity. How do you suppose we are able to stability accountable AI improvement with the necessity to push boundaries, all whereas avoiding alarmism?
As I discussed earlier than, the paradoxes we witness with AI are immense, elevating questions for which we now have no solutions. They pose vital dangers. It is fascinating to discover the probabilities and bounds of know-how, however alternatively, we aren’t prepared – as people, nor as a society – for any such automation of our abilities.
We have to make investments at the very least as a lot in researching the technological impression on folks, their considering, and their functioning as we do within the applied sciences themselves. We’d like multidisciplinary groups to collectively discover the probabilities of know-how and their impression on humanity.
It is as if we had been making a product with out caring concerning the worth it brings to the patron, who can purchase it, and why. If we didn’t have a vendor, we would not promote a lot. The state of affairs with AI is extra critical, although. We’ve got use circumstances, merchandise, and individuals who need them, however as a society, we don’t totally perceive what’s taking place after we use them. And maybe most individuals do not even need to know.
In right this moment’s world world, we can not cease progress, nor can we gradual it down. It solely slows after we are saturated with outcomes and discover it laborious to enhance, or after we run out of sources, as coaching giant AI fashions may be very costly. That’s the reason their finest safety is researching their impression from the start of their improvement and creating boundaries for his or her use. Everyone knows that it’s prohibited to drink alcohol earlier than the age of 18, or 21 in some international locations, but typically with out hesitation, we permit kids to speak with AI programs, which they’ll simply liken to people and belief implicitly with out understanding the content material.
Belief in AI is a significant subject globally, with attitudes towards AI programs various broadly between cultures and areas. How can the AI analysis neighborhood assist foster belief in AI applied sciences and be certain that they’re seen as helpful and reliable throughout numerous societies?
As I used to be saying, multidisciplinary analysis is important not just for discovering new potentialities and bettering AI applied sciences but additionally for evaluating their abilities, how we understand them, and their impression on people and society.
The rise of deep neural networks is altering the scientific strategies of AI and IT. We’ve got synthetic programs the place the core rules are recognized, however by scaling, they’ll develop abilities that we can not at all times clarify. As scientists and engineers, we devise methods to make sure the mandatory accuracy in particular conditions by combining numerous processes. Nonetheless, there may be nonetheless a lot we do not perceive, and we can not totally consider the properties of those fashions.
Such analysis doesn’t produce direct worth, which makes it difficult to garner voluntary help from the personal sector on a bigger scale. That is the place the personal and public sectors can collaborate for the way forward for all of us.
AI regulation has struggled to maintain up with the sector’s speedy developments, and but, as somebody who advocates for AI ethics and transparency, you’ve possible thought-about the position of regulation in shaping the long run. How do you see AI researchers contributing to insurance policies and rules that guarantee the moral and accountable improvement of AI programs? Ought to they play a extra lively position in policymaking?
Serious about ethics in analysis is essential, not solely in analysis but additionally within the improvement of merchandise. Nonetheless, it may be fairly costly as a result of it will be significant that an actual want arises on the degree of vital plenty. We nonetheless have to think about the dilemma of recent data acquisition versus the potential interference with the autonomy or privateness of people.
I’m satisfied {that a} good decision is feasible. The query of ethics and credibility should be an integral a part of the event of any product or analysis from the start. On the Kempelen Institute, we now have consultants on ethics and rules who assist not solely researchers but additionally corporations in evaluating the dangers linked to the ethics and credibility of their merchandise.
We see that every one of us have gotten extra delicate. Philosophers and attorneys take into consideration the applied sciences and provide options that don’t eradicate the dangers, whereas scientists and engineers are asking themselves questions they hadn’t thought-about earlier than.
Normally, there are nonetheless too few of those actions. Our society evaluates outcomes based on the variety of scientific papers produced, leaving little room for coverage advocacy. This makes it much more vital to create area for it. Lately, in sure circles, equivalent to pure language processing or recommender system communities, it has turn into customary for scientific papers to incorporate opinions on ethics as a part of the evaluation course of.
As AI researchers work towards innovation, they’re typically confronted with moral dilemmas. Have you ever encountered challenges in balancing the moral imperatives of AI improvement with the necessity for scientific progress? How do you navigate these tensions, significantly in your work on customized AI programs and knowledge privateness?
On the Kempelen Institute, it has been helpful to have philosophers and attorneys concerned from the very starting, serving to us navigate these dilemmas. We’ve got an ethics board, and variety of opinions is one among our core values.
Evidently, it’s not straightforward. I significantly discover it problematic after we need to translate analysis outcomes into observe and encounter points with the information the mannequin was skilled on. On this regard, it’s essential to make sure transparency from the outset, so we cannot solely write a scientific paper but additionally assist corporations innovate their merchandise.
Given your collaboration with giant know-how corporations and organizations, equivalent to ESET, how vital do you suppose it’s for these corporations to steer by instance in selling moral AI, inclusivity, and sustainability? What position do you suppose firms ought to play in shaping a future the place AI is aligned with societal values?
The Kempelen Institute was established primarily based on the collaboration of people with robust tutorial backgrounds and visionaries from a number of giant and medium-sized corporations. The thought is that shaping a future the place AI aligns with societal values can’t be realized by only one group. We’ve got to attach and search synergies wherever potential.
For that cause, in 2024, we organized the primary version of the AI Awards, centered on Reliable AI. This occasion culminated on the Forbes Enterprise Fest, the place we introduced the laureate of the award – AI:Dental, a startup. In 2025 we’re efficiently persevering with the AI Awards and have obtained extra and better high quality functions.
We began discussing the subject of AI and disinformation virtually 10 years in the past. Again then, it was extra tutorial, however even then, we witnessed some malicious disinformation, particularly associated to human well being. We had no thought of the immense affect this subject would finally have on the world. And it is solely one among many urgent points.
I worry that the general public sector alone has no probability of tackling these points with out the assistance of enormous corporations, particularly right this moment when AI is being utilized by politicians to realize recognition. I think about the subject of trustworthiness in know-how, significantly AI, to be as vital as different key subjects in CSR. Supporting analysis on the options of AI fashions and their impression on people is key for sustainable progress and high quality life.
Thanks to your time!
