OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman details the steps the private and public sectors should take to ensure that “democratic AI” defeats “authoritarian AI” models.
in a Washington post Controlling artificial intelligence is “the pressing issue of our time” and means the world must face strategic choices, he said in a column on Thursday.
“Will this be a global AI push by the United States and our allies, spreading the benefits of technology and opening up access to it, or will it be authoritarian AI, where countries or movements that don’t share our values use AI to consolidate and open up technology and expand their power?” Altman wrote.
“There is no third option – now is the time to decide which path to take. The United States currently leads in the development of artificial intelligence, but continued leadership is not guaranteed. Authoritarian governments around the world are willing to spend huge sums to catch up and eventually Beyond us.
He pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the winner of the artificial intelligence competition will “become the ruler of the world” and China plans to lead the world in the field of artificial intelligence by 2030.
Altman warned that these regimes will not only use artificial intelligence to maintain their own power, but also use the technology to threaten others.
If autocrats gain a lead in artificial intelligence, he said, they could force companies in the United States and elsewhere to share user data and use the technology to develop the next generation of cyber weapons.
To prevent this from happening, he called for a U.S.-led global alliance and new strategy, highlighting four key steps:
- Develop strong security measures to ensure that the Alliance remains a leader in the field of artificial intelligence.
- Build “significantly increased amounts” of artificial intelligence infrastructure, such as data centers and power plants.
- Develop a “commercial foreign policy” that provides for artificial intelligence export controls and foreign investment rules.
- Model the world and set standards for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence, using the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers as an example.
“While identifying the right decision-making bodies is important, the bottom line is that democratic AI is ahead of authoritarian AI because our political system empowers American companies, entrepreneurs, and academics to research, innovate, and build,” Altman said.
He added that unless a democratic vision prevails, the world will have no reason to maximize the benefits of this technology and minimize its risks.
“If we want a more democratic world, history tells us that our only option is to develop an AI strategy that will help create that world, and it is the responsibility of leading nations and technologists to do so now. s Choice.
A few weeks ago, OpenAI announced the appointment of retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone as a member of the board’s new Safety and Security Committee.
This prompted harsh criticism from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who warned: “Never trust OpenAI or its products.”
At the same time, Musk and others said that OpenAI gave up its original intention of developing artificial intelligence to benefit all mankind and instead pursued commercial success.
The concerns came to a head in May, when OpenAI released GPT-4o, which featured a voice option that sounded similar to that of actress Scarlett Johansson. She said Altman asked her to speak out against the system last September, but she refused.
“When I heard the demo released, I was shocked, angry and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so similar to mine that even my closest friends and the news media could not tell the difference,” ” Johnson said.
OpenAI said the voice was not Johnson’s but stopped using the option.
