Just as the general public began to be amused by the idea of artificial intelligence (AI), thanks to generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, it began to show how smart (or not) AI was, and someone decides to pop the balloons at the party.
Just 12 months ago, fearmongers were touting how AI would take all our jobs. Naturally, people were very worried, especially in a profession that was considered the most vulnerable at the time. But then the pendulum swung and it was only the creative professions considered the most “human” in the industry that suddenly broke a sweat. Writers, musicians, artists, photographers and filmmakers were suddenly robbed. And just when society at large was breathing a sigh of relief and sharing ChatGPT memes, something funny happened.
Some technology leaders who have long welcomed the arrival of meaningful AI and have been actively involved in its development have begun to show signs of concern in old-school letters (although certainly not handwritten on real paper). , which is still an analog concept).
The letter garnered most of the headlines with a few high-profile signatures, including Twitter mogul Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
A pause on giant AI experiments: A letter titled Open Letter was posted by the Future Life (FLI) Institute. As the title suggests, it called for a 6-month pause in AI development as stronger variations are being announced and released on a regular basis.
Musk and Co argue that AI systems are already at a stage where they can compete with human intelligence (and even pass the bar exam), and that further development poses serious risks and “will change the history of life on Earth.” It could bring about big changes,” he said.
It was serious, but this quickly became hidden as even more powerful platforms emerged that let you write essays and poems, create lifelike panoramas, and create feature films with the click of a mouse. it was done.
Tech giants riding the AI wave
Microsoft-backed ChatGPT got a lot of early headlines, but Google wasn’t far behind with its own Bard chatbot. When asked by CBS, Google CEO Sundar Pichai argued that AI can be as good or bad as human nature allows. Frankly, this is a big red flag. Mother Teresa is misusing AI, and there is Vladimir Putin.
Since then, Google has been hit by the resignation of its own “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, who regrets some of his pioneering work in the field and said AI could be exploited by bad guys. said it is possible. He has since said AI could pose an even greater existential threat than climate change.
As with climate change, this call to pause and regulate AI development is problematic, especially in a global context where consensus is difficult to reach and oversight.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with top tech CEOs including Google’s Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei. Interestingly, the meeting came just days after Republican videos produced by AI technology showed Biden a less-than-bright future under his second term in office.
AI development in China continues
However, with tensions between Washington and Beijing still high, it is unlikely that a crackdown on regulations in the US will have a significant impact on China’s own technological development. Citizen data availability in China compared to the United States.
According to a recent US government report, the top five facial recognition companies were all from China. Alibaba also announced that it will launch its own version of ChatGPT.
This is despite the US government’s attempt to put the brakes on China’s AI development by forcing top chip makers Nvidia and AMD to only sell “slow” chips to China. While it does, Nvidia’s H800 chips are available in China and are estimated to be 10-30% slower than those available in the US.
AI technology is clearly at a tipping point, and when it comes to imposing regulations to bring this spirit back into the bottle, it may be too late.
