CEO of OpenAI warns of potential AI havoc due to “very refined” misalignments | The Hill
During the CEO Summit for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco on Thursday, November 16, 2023, Sam Altman participated in a discussion. Following his abrupt departure from the company in a surprising business restructuring that stunned the artificial intelligence community, Microsoft has revealed the hiring of Sam Altman and another designer from ChatGPT manufacturer OpenAI. Microsoft’s chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, also disclosed on Monday, November 20, 2023, that OpenAI and the pioneering AI concept robot are now partners. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, highlighted the potential benefits of technology while issuing a word of caution about the risks associated with “very simple societal misalignments” in artificial intelligence that could lead to catastrophic outcomes.
Discussing the potential pitfalls, Altman stated during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday via video call, “Some items in there are simple to think where things actually go wrong. And I’m not really interested in the criminal computers walking on the street course of stuff going wrong.”
Altman, the visionary behind ChatGPT, emphasized, “I’m much more interested in the very simple societal misalignments where we just have these systems out in society and through no certain ill intention, things really go horribly wrong.”
Despite these concerns, Altman expressed optimism that with concerted efforts to mitigate the downsides of AI technology, positive outcomes can be achieved.
He expressed his vision, saying, “I think we can envision a world in the not too distant future where everyone leads better lives than they do now.” Altman emphasized the transformative potential of widespread access to high-quality intelligence tools, stating, “If everyone has access to copious amounts of actually high-quality intelligence and can use those tools to create whatever they want to do… that’s like very amazing,” which can significantly elevate the standard of living.
Altman stressed the need for the establishment of a regulatory body to oversee AI, drawing parallels to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He further added, “We are going to require, I believe at some point, some sort of world system. What kind of accounting? Before you can build a super intelligence, or whatever you want to call an AGI [artificial common intelligence], what kind of safety precautions do you need to take?”
When questioned about the role of governments in this domain, Altman mentioned ongoing dialogues worldwide but advocated for a more action-oriented approach with broad support in the coming years.
However, Altman asserted that OpenAI should not be solely responsible for setting regulations governing its rapidly advancing technology.
Altman has consistently advocated for federal oversight of AI and has pledged to collaborate with policymakers on Capitol Hill to address associated risks.
Microsoft’s substantial investment in the San Francisco-based AI firm, a prominent player in the AI landscape, underscores the significance of their partnership. The Associated Press recently entered into a licensing agreement with OpenAI to aid in training the company’s AI systems.
Nevertheless, OpenAI has faced criticism for its training methods. Recently, The New York Times filed a copyright lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging the use of millions of its articles in training their AI models.
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