Université de Montréal computer-science professor Yoshua Bengio today announced the launch of LawZero, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing research and developing technical solutions for "safe-by-design" systems of artificial intelligence.
With Bengio as its president and scientific director, the organization brings together a team of AI researchers building the next generation of AI systems in a way that puts safety ahead of commercial interests.
Bengio, founder of Mila – Quebec AI Institute, said he founded LawZero in response to evidence that today’s "frontier AI" models are developing dangerous capabilities and behaviours, including deception, self-preservation and misalignment of goals.
His research team will strive to unlock the potential of AI in ways that reduce the likelihood of a range of dangers associated with today’s systems, including algorithmic bias, intentional misuse and loss of human control.
Structured as a nonprofit to insulate it from market and government pressures, “LawZero is the result of the new scientific direction I undertook in 2023 after recognizing the rapid progress made by private labs toward artificial general intelligence (AGI) and ... its profound implications for humanity,” said Bengio.
“Current frontier systems are already showing signs of self-preservation and deceptive behaviours, and this will only accelerate as their capabilities and degree of agency increase," added Bengio, a pioneer of machine learning and co-winner of the A.M. Turing Award in 2018.
