Peter T. C. Chang

Opinion | Oppenheimer’s story is a cautionary tale in the age of AI

Just as the advent of the atomic bomb marked humanity’s capability for self-inflicted devastation, the era of AI signals the potential for artificial intelligence to assume control over our destiny

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An Allied correspondent stands in a sea of rubble before the shell of a building that once was a movie theatre in Hiroshima in Japan on September 8, 1945, a month after the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare was dropped by the US to hasten Japan’s surrender. Most of those with severe radiation symptoms died within three to six weeks. Others who lived beyond that developed health problems related to burns and radiation-induced cancers and other illnesses. Photo: AP

Peter T. C. Chang

Published: 8:15am, 16 Aug 2023

At the heart of the Oppenheimer tragedy lies the transformation of scientific knowledge into weaponry, bestowing upon humanity the chilling capacity for self-inflicted obliteration. Unless humankind rises above its mutual hostilities, there is a risk that even our power to self-terminate might fall under the control of a malevolent artificial intelligence.

The US’ dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continues to be profoundly controversial due to the staggering loss of civilian life and the catastrophic devastation inflicted. When US president Harry S. Truman congratulated J. Robert Oppenheimer on the success of the Manhattan Project, the latter reportedly said, “I feel I have blood on my hands.”

Morally conflicted, the “father of the atomic bomb” subsequently emerged as a fervent proponent of nuclear arms control. But Oppenheimer’s advocacy cast doubt on his allegiance, leading to accusations of harbouring communist sympathies and resulting in the revocation of his security clearance.

The Oppenheimer backstory unveils the intricate relationship between humankind and science, where the former wields science as a tool that, unfortunately, is susceptible to misuse for ignoble ends. In the Manhattan Project, there were two fateful features of this delicate relationship.

Firstly, while humans have historically misappropriated science on various occasions, the atomic bomb presents a unique case involving rivalry between nation-states to produce a specific weapon. Oppenheimer was in a race against Nazi Germany to develop the first atomic bomb.

Secondly, while scientific misapplication has been detrimental to humankind, the atomic bomb stands as an ominous culmination of such misuse, embodying a potentially apocalyptic weapon that has left humanity with an unsettling legacy – an enduring sense of vulnerability beneath the shadow of total annihilation.