Tech chiefs were called to the White House on Thursday and said they must protect the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).
Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and OpenAI’s Sam Altmann have been said to have a “moral” duty to protect society.
The White House made it clear that it may continue to regulate the sector.
Recently launched AI products like ChatGPT and Bard have captured the public’s imagination.
They offer ordinary users the ability to interact with so-called “generative AI,” which can pull together information from multiple sources in a matter of seconds, debug computer code, write presentations and even poetry that sound plausible as if they had been humans. generated.
Their introduction has sparked renewed debate about the role of AI in society by making the potential risks and benefits of the new technology tangible.
Technology leaders gathered at the White House on Thursday were told it was up to companies to “ensure the safety of their products” and were warned that the administration was open to new regulations and legislation covering artificial intelligence .
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAi, the company behind ChatGPT, told reporters that when it comes to regulation, executives are “surprisingly on the same page about what needs to happen.”
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US Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement after the meeting that the new technology could pose risks to security, privacy and civil rights, although it also has the potential to improve lives.
The private sector has “an ethical, moral and legal responsibility to ensure the safety of its products,” she said.
The White House announced a $140 million (£111 million) investment from the National Science Foundation to create seven new AI research institutes.
Demands for better regulation of the dramatic rise in emerging AI have been loud and fast from both politicians and tech leaders.
Earlier this week, AI’s “godfather” Geoffrey Hinton quit his job at Google – saying he now regrets his job.
He told the BBC that some of the dangers of AI chatbots are “pretty scary”.
In March, a letter signed by Elon Musk and Apple founder Steve Wozniak called for a pause in the technology’s adoption.
And on Wednesday, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chief Lina Khan offered her views on how and why AI needs to be regulated.
There are concerns that AI could quickly replace human jobs, as well as concerns that chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard could be inaccurate and lead to the spread of misinformation.
There are also concerns that generative AI could violate copyright law. Voice Cloning AI could exacerbate fraud. AI-generated videos can spread fake news.
However, proponents like Bill Gates have resisted calls for a “pause” in AI, saying such a move “would not solve the challenges ahead”.
Mr. Gates argues it would be better to focus on how best to take advantage of developments in AI.
And others believe there is a risk of over-regulation – which would give tech companies a strategic advantage in China.
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