Sam Altman, the head of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, sees it as a “mistake to regulate the area heavily or to try to slow down the incredible innovation.”
The head of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, Sam Altman, has spoken out against immediate “heavy regulation” of artificial intelligence (AI). “I think it would be a mistake to immediately regulate the area or try to slow down the incredible innovation,” said the 38-year-old at Tel Aviv University on Monday. Strong state regulation could hinder the current rapid development of AI technology.
It was only in mid-May that Altman spoke out in favor of more state regulation in the US Senate. In his speech in Israel on Monday, however, he emphasized that at the hearing in the US he was not referring to the regulation of “today’s systems” but to long-term institutional supervision.
Risk of a “superintelligence”
Altman further said there is a risk of “superintelligence that isn’t really well aligned”. This is “something we may have to deal with over the next decade”. For the relevant institutions worldwide, this is not a long period of time to adapt. At a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Altman stressed that a way had to be found “how we can contain these very enormous risks”.
The OpenAI founder reiterated his proposal to create a “global organization” to oversee the security of AI. A similar model already exists with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees nuclear safety around the world.
Expert group warned of ‘extinction’
Altman was among a number of experts who warned in late May of the “risk of obliteration” by AI. The brief statement said that addressing the risks posed by AI should be “a global priority alongside other societal risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
OpenAI made its chatbot ChatGPT, which can generate complex content in seconds in response to user requests, available to the public in November. This accelerated the race in the IT industry for generative AI systems.
Public reactions vary between enthusiasm and great fear. Experts warn that artificial intelligence could be misused to spread misinformation and destroy jobs on a large scale.
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