Anthropic and Microsoft Researchers Weigh Limits of Artificial Intelligence at Berkman Klein Panel

Researchers from Anthropic and Microsoft split on the limits of artificial intelligence during a Berkman Klein Center panel on Monday, two days after Anthropic’s chief executive urged AI companies to slow down their work.

The panel is the first in a series focused on how AI is reshaping relationships, beliefs, and creativity, and drew more than 100 attendees. It came on the heels of a statement from Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei that urged AI developers to slow the pace of capability advances so safety work can keep up — a position Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk have since echoed.

Ken Archer, a product leader in responsible AI at Microsoft, said he does not believe AI will ever achieve general intelligence. Archer said forecasts of machine superintelligence show “a lack of historical awareness of how science progresses,” drawing an analogy to several physicists in the 1700s who believed their field was nearly finished.

“I am p-zero on artificial general intelligence, but I am super excited about artificial intelligence,” said Archer, employing shorthand for a probability of zero.

Jackson M. Kernion ’12, who leads the human feedback program at Anthropic, said the difference lies in experience rather than ability, arguing that language models lack what he called the “continuity of experience” that humans bring to every interaction.