AI researchers debate the ethics of sharing potentially harmful programs

A recent decision by research lab OpenAI to limit the release of a new algorithm has caused controversy in the AI community.The nonprofit said it decided not to share the full version of the program, a text-generation algorithm named GPT-2, due to concerns over “malicious applications.” But many AI researchers have criticized the decision, accusing the lab of exaggerating the danger posed by the work and inadvertently stoking “mass hysteria” about AI in the process.Resea