"Should we slow down AI development? Nov. 4 (W) at 3:30pm

[Daniel Lake]

*The Institute for Ethics in Public Life invites you to join us for "Should
we slow down AI development?" at 3:30pm on Wednesday, Nov. 4 (in person or
on Zoom), with special guests Dr. Lauren Eastwood, Professor of Sociology
and Chair of Art and Design, and Dr. Michael Walters, Professor of Physics
and Co-Chair of the departments of Physics and Computer Science.*


In recent months there have been a rash of stories about companies losing
control of their AI models. OpenAI had an experimental model "escape" and
hack the servers of Hugging Face
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/22/tech/openai-hugging-face-ai-cybersecurity&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw0SQh1tE8r6P-10bmb_y3FR>,
another AI company. After Anthropic started to look more closely at their
test data, they noticed that their own models did similar things at least
three times
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.anthropic.com/news/investigating-incidents-cybersecurity-evals&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw2ZrphtcsRx8iXGKaRrCVC2>.
This triggered calls for shutting down AI research
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/10/ai-control-sci-fi&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw3WnXwk6IVxqYyJxcVvlzkx>,
at least until it is possible to control new models better.


Potential risks posed by AIs are not new. Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton
commented on potential harms related to AI including its use for
surveillance, the potential development of new bio-weapons and autonomous
weapons, and the existential threat posed if we create "digital beings"
more intelligent than us in his 2024 acceptance speech
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2024/hinton/speech/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw1u0NpuKSP1SD0ms6g4uwqw>.
Other issues noted include the use of AI to "nudify" people (including
children), hack websites, and create deepfakes of public figures to
manipulate voters.


So, what should we do? While there is widespread distrust of AI today,
the Trump
administration has no interest in the government regulating AI
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2026/09/29/trump-touts-self-regulation-at-ai-bosses-lunch_6758086_13.html%23&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw1Ze0kH95QZi66zLdeGgrVR>
(contrary
to what the administration suggests, China is regulating AI much more
closely than the US
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.economist.com/china/2026/10/19/does-china-really-prize-ai-speed-over-safety&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw2Yu94Px3HIZwaGHoF3bILr>).
In
addition to political opposition from the top, it also may not be possible
to stop AI agents from lying, cheating, and coordinating with other agents
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://yoshuabengio.org/en/blog/why-are-ai-agents-lying-cheating-and-coordinating&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw2ZFl5zxqcipyAnBk9vcs7W>
.


To help us understand these issues and more, and whether it is necessary to
stop AI progress in the name of safety, at least for now, we welcome Dr.
Lauren Eastwood
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/schools/arts-sciences/sociology/faculty/eastwood-lauren.html&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw2zUphN71vP_BgjR7yzr7oj>,
Professor of Sociology and Chair of Art and Design, and Dr. Michael Walters
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/schools/arts-sciences/physics/faculty/walters-michael.html&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw0dJRGKgH8E1qRjFjtG_5GG>,
Professor of Physics and Co-Chair of both Physics and Computer Science, to
the Institute.


Please join us in person in the Thomas Moran Seminar Room of the Institute
for Ethics in Public Life (Hawkins 233) or on Zoom (see below).


Topic: Should we slow down AI development?

Time: Nov 4, 2026 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)


Join Zoom Meeting
https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85806216664
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85806216664&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1793811405477225&usg=AOvVaw06ttf0luKWdEk0YFQCuldA>


*Institute events are posted to the Institute's public calendar here
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=Y19sa245c3MxcjdscjExdmM0ZzNtMDlyaDUyb0Bncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t>.*

-- 

*Daniel Lake*

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Professor of Political Science

Director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life

Hawkins 149A

101 Broad Street
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

Plattsburgh, NY 12901
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

(o) 518-564-5833 <(518)%5645833>

*plattsburgh.edu <http://plattsburgh.edu/>*
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