Washington (EFE).- The executive director and co-founder of Open AI, developer of the ChatGPT text generation program, Sam Altman, asked the United States Congress to regulate the development and uses of artificial intelligence (AI).
In an appearance before a Senate subcommittee, Altman listed the beneficial applications of the technology. From medicine to the fight against the climate crisis, and he was confident that AI can be used for the benefit of humanity.
But he qualified that the intervention of world governments is necessary. To ensure that these tools are developed in a way that protects and respects the rights and freedoms of citizens.
“We believe that the benefits of the tools we have developed so far far outweigh the risks,” the businessman defended during the hearing.
The advancement of AI
Altman’s testimony comes amid concern on the part of US authorities that the rapid advancement of AI technologies could have unintended effects on society.
Lawmakers cited risks such as job losses. Or the use of content creation tools to generate false information by foreign actors.
To illustrate his concerns, Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the Privacy, Technology, and the Law subcommittee and audience advocate, broadcast an AI-powered recording that had been written by ChatGPT, mimicking the style and focus of the chat. congressman.
“Quoting ChatGPT, this is not necessarily the future we want,” Blumenthal joked at the start of the event.
Altman admitted that AI is likely to affect the job market. But he was optimistic that in the long run, technology will create more new jobs than it destroys.
“We are tremendously creative,” confided the businessman.
Another guest at the event, IBM’s Director of Privacy and Trust, Christina Montgomery, cited her own position as an example of work that didn’t exist before the development of AI.
Sam Altman was also open to Blumenthal’s suggestion that the government develop independent laboratories to test the reliability of artificial intelligence models, and that they would give them a similar grade to the nutritional rating of food.
Sam Altman admits his mistakes
The head of OpenAI admitted that his products are still buggy, but over time they will become more and more reliable.
Another of the driving senators in the audience, Josh Hawley, assured that AI is “one of the most significant innovations in history.” But it is still not clear if it will be more similar to the invention of the printing press or the atomic bomb.
The congressmen argued that while it is true that public regulation is needed, AI companies like OpenAI do not have to wait for Congress to put in place mechanisms to control the development of the technology to mitigate the damage.
Earlier this month, the US government announced that it will invest $140 million to establish seven new artificial intelligence research institutes that will drive responsible innovation and ensure that advances in technology serve the common good.
The centers will join the 18 AI research institutes already operating in the country
In addition, the White House announced that major AI companies have agreed to undergo a public evaluation of their systems during the DEF CON 31 hacker event, to be held in Las Vegas in early August.
During the convention, thousands of participants will discuss whether these systems are aligned with the AI Bill of Rights proposed by the US government. And that includes principles such as the privacy of user data or protection against discriminatory algorithms.