San Francisco (AFP) – A group of current and former OpenAI employees published an open letter on Tuesday warning that one of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies is failing to demonstrate the transparency and accountability needed to address potential risks posed by the technology.
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The letter raised serious concerns about AI safety risks, “ranging from the further entrenching of existing inequalities, to manipulation, misinformation, and loss of control of autonomous AI systems that could lead to human extinction.”
The 16 signatories, including staff from Google's DeepMind, warned that corporate self-regulation would not substantially change the situation because AI companies “have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight.”
“AI companies possess substantial non-public information about the capabilities and limitations of their systems, the adequacy of their safeguards, and the level of risk of various types of harm,” the letter said.
“But right now, they have almost no obligation to share information with the government and no obligation to share information with the civilian community. We can't imagine that they would all share information voluntarily.”
The letter further stated that this reality means only employees within a company can report to the public, and the signatories called for broader whistleblower laws to protect whistleblowers.
“Extensive confidentiality agreements prevent us from raising our concerns with anyone other than the companies, who may not be able to address these issues,” the letter said.
According to the New York Times, four current OpenAI employees signed the letter anonymously due to fears of retaliation from the company.
The document, also signed by Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton and Stuart Russell – often referred to as the “godfathers” of AI – criticises the lack of preparation for the dangers of AI.
OpenAI responded to the criticism in a statement.
“We are proud of our track record of delivering the most capable and safest AI systems, and we believe in a scientific approach to addressing risks,” it said in a statement.
“We agree that rigorous discussion is essential given the importance of this technology, and we will continue to engage with governments, civil society and other communities around the world.”
OpenAI also said it has “channels for employees to voice concerns, including an anonymous honesty hotline,” and that it has formed a new safety and security committee led by board members and executives, including CEO Sam Altman.
The criticism of OpenAI, first revealed in The New York Times, comes amid growing questions about Altman's leadership of the company.
OpenAI has announced a series of new products, which the company claims will only be made available to the public after undergoing extensive testing.
The launch of the human-like chatbot sparked controversy after Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson complained that it sounded too similar to her voice.
She had previously turned down an offer from Altman to work for the company.
© 2024 AFP
