Former Google CEO Warns About Impact Of AI On Politics, Calls On Regulators, Tech Industry To Rein It In

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” program, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in American politics must be reined in, to avoid potential damage to society. Schmidt acknowledged the potential for AI to benefit society but stressed that it still has many hurdles to leap before it can fulfill its potential. He called for regulators to help oversee the technologies now and warned that the tech industry must take measures to mitigate AI threats. Schmidt also highlighted the danger presented by computer-generated audio and pictures, both of which can be indistinguishable from recordings made with traditional media.

In the past, the likes of scientists and political leaders have banded together to tackle issues such as nuclear power and recombinant DNA by imposing appropriate restrictions. The former CEO believes that the time has now come for governments, economists, philosophers, and industry leaders to start working together or collectively “face a reckoning” over how to keep AI from doing harm to democracies.

OpenAI recently released the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT-4, further prompting leaders in the tech industry, including Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, to call for a pause on further development of new AI models. The Future of Life Institute echoed these concerns in an open letter, citing “significant” potential impacts from recent AI developments on information channels and employment, and calling for a six-month moratorium before the development of stronger AI systems can take place. The letter warns that such decisions should not be delegated to unelected tech leaders and that powerful AI systems should only be developed once there is a justifiable level of confidence that any potential risks will be manageable and the benefits are positive.

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The Future of Life Institute open letter concluded that confidence in AI must increase in line with the potential for an AI system’s impact on the world.

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