"Safety" in the context of AI systems is clearly a fuzzy concept that means different things to different people. There are a couple of areas to consider: 1)

"Safety" in the context of AI systems is clearly a fuzzy concept that means different things to different people. There are a couple of areas to consider: 1) In a brand-affiliated commercial app, does this technology risk alienating customers by spewing a torrent of abusive content, e.g. the infamous Tay bot of 2016? Commercial success means avoiding this outcome. 2) In terms of the general use of the technology, is it accurate enough that it won't be giving people very bad advice, e.g. instructions on how to install some software that ends up bricking their computer or encouraging cooking with poisonous mushrooms, etc.? Here is a potential major liability issue. 3) Is it going to be used for malicious activity and can it detect such usage? E.g. I did ask it if it would be willing provide detailed instructions on recreating the Stuxnet cyberweapon (a joint product of the US and Israeli cyberwarfare/espionage agencies, if reports are correct). It said that wouldn't be appropriate and refused, which is what I expected, and that's as should be. Of course, a step-by-step-approach is allowed (i.e. you can create a course on PLC programming using LLMs and nothing is going to stop that). This however is a problem with all dual-use technology, and the only positive is that relatively few people are reckless sociopaths out to do damage to critical infrastructure. In the context of Stuxnet, however, nation-state use of this technology in the name of 'improving national security' is going to be a major issue moving forward, particularly if lucrative contracts are being handed out for AI malware generators or the like. Autonomous murder drones enabled by facial recognition algorithms are a related issue. The most probable reckless use scenario is going to be in this area, if history is any guide. I suppose there's another category of 'safety' I've seen some hand-wringing about, related to the explosive spread of technological and other information (historical, economic, etc.) to the unwashed masses and resulting 'social destabilization', but that one belongs in the same category as "it's risky to teach slaves how to read and write." Conclusion: Keep on developing at current rate with appropriate caution, Musk et al. are wrong on calling for a pause.