A TEAM of academics are urging caution amongst pioneers in artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent potentially catastrophic consequences if companies do not put safety first.

Dr The Anh Han, senior lecturer in computer science at Teesside University, says that there is a current bidding war in AI with many countries potentially putting lives at risk.

The academic has been awarded a prestigious research grant to investigate the issue further alongside international researchers Professor Luis Moniz Pereira, New University of Lisbon, and Professor Tom Lenaerts, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

The grant from the Future of Life Institute will enable the researchers to study the escalating bidding war for AI excellence.

He said: "There is a temptation to cut corners on safety compliance in order to move more quickly than competitors. But if AI is not developed in a safe way, it could have catastrophic consequences.

"Movies have been made about potential AI catastrophes. It could include problems with driverless car technology, putting lives at risk. In an extreme, worst case scenario, robots could run havoc with the world if the companies creating them don’t take safety and security seriously.

"Many countries and organisations are battling to be the first to develop powerful AI. Google and Facebook, for example, have created big research labs for AI development. Terrorists want to develop powerful AI which is of course a huge danger to society. Cyber hackers can also take advantage if technology is not developed in a safe way."

Dr Han says that the biggest players in AI at the moment include the United States of America and China, but countries and companies from all over the world are trying to participate in the technology race.

"Through our research, we want to understand what sort of behaviours emerge and how we can use different, efficient incentives to drive the race in a more beneficial direction," he said.

The grant means it is able to employ a post-doctorate level researcher to undertake mathematical modelling over the next two years.