He is, however, heavily involved in the world of artificial intelligence, which is receiving considerable attention amid red flag warnings from experts in the industry.

Hamann, who is the AI Chief Scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, shared his personal thoughts about a technology that is advancing at a rapid pace.

“Artificial intelligence is a very powerful technology,” Hamann said in an interview. “With any technology, it really depends on how you use it. You can use it to cause a lot of harm and you can use it to do a lot of good things.”

He believes the current debate about how to reduce the harm it, and malevolent actors, might cause in using the technology, is warranted.

“It’s a useful discussion to think about potential consequences and unintended consequences,” he said.

The fact that insiders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a warning suggesting the industry needs to slow the pace of advancements is something “we should pay attention to,” Hamann said, particularly during a rapid phase of technological evolution.