Sir Stephen Fry says AI is ‘not immune from contamination’ and can do ‘too much’
22 January 2025, 13:04
He spoke at The British Educational Training and Technology (Bett) Show in London on Wednesday.
Sir Stephen Fry has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) is “not immune” from being “contaminated” with “people’s hatred, weirdness and grooming”.
The actor, 67, also said there are certain human activities where technology can become “deleterious”, mentioning competitive sport as an example.
Speaking at The British Educational Training and Technology (Bett) Show in London on Wednesday, he compared AI with water, saying in the future it may have “raw sewage and chemicals and all kinds of nonsense in it”.
Sir Stephen said: “All of you with children worry about the fact that, as it were, the air they’re breathing is contaminated and that the lines of communication they have through apps and social media is polluted with raw sewage of people’s hatred, weirdness and grooming and all the other terrors.
“AI is not immune from that, obviously, because it is entirely composed of everything out there.”
Sir Stephen warned of “meaningless and useless nonsense” being added to AI and told of his “deep worry” about the technology being “compromised”.
He told of his concerns about AI being controlled by countries, corporations or criminals.
The comedian, known for BBC comedy Blackadder and hosting quiz show QI, also said AI can do “too much” and that the technology could “ruin” the experience of being alive.
He said that it should “declare itself” and cannot pretend to be real, warning that people must not be led to believe falsehoods or disbelieve truths.
Sir Stephen told the audience that AI can be of “unbelievable use” in education if used to engage a child in a “Socratic method” which questions them on subjects.
