“I’m nervous about it,” CEO Sam Altman said of elections and artificial intelligence. (representative)
Washington.
The CEO of OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, told a Senate committee on Tuesday that the use of artificial intelligence to disrupt the integrity of elections is a “significant area of concern,” adding that it needs regulation.
“I’m nervous about it,” CEO Sam Altman said of elections and artificial intelligence, adding that rules and guidelines are needed.
For months, companies large and small have been racing to bring increasingly versatile AI to market, challenging endless data and billions of dollars. Some critics fear the technology will exacerbate societal harms, including prejudice and misinformation, while others warn that artificial intelligence could end humanity.
“There’s no way to put this genie in a bottle. Globally, this is exploding,” said Sen. Cory Booker, one of many lawmakers who have questions about how best to regulate artificial intelligence.
Senator Mazi Hirono noted the danger of disinformation as the 2024 elections approach. “In the context of the election, for example, I saw a picture of former President Trump being arrested by the NYPD in New York and it went viral,” he said, pressing Altman on whether he would consider the doctored image harmful.
Mr. Altman responded that creators should clarify when the image is created, not actually.
Speaking before Congress for the first time, Altman suggested that the US as a whole should consider licensing and testing requirements for the development of artificial intelligence models.
Mr Altman, asked for an opinion on which artificial intelligence should be subject to patenting, said a model that could persuade or manipulate a person’s beliefs would be an example of a “big threshold”.
He also said companies should have the right to say they don’t want their data used for AI training, an idea being debated on Capitol Hill. Sam Altman said, however, that material on the public Internet would be fair game.
Sam Altman also said he would “say no” to the idea of advertising, but preferred a subscription-based model.
The White House has invited top tech CEOs, including Altman, to address AI. US lawmakers are also taking steps to ensure the technology’s benefits and national security while limiting its misuse. The consensus is far from certain.
An OpenAI employee recently proposed creating a US licensing agency for AI that could be called the Office of AI Security and Infrastructure Security, or OASIS, Reuters reported.
OpenAI is powered by Microsoft Corp. Mr. Altman also calls for global cooperation to promote AI and security compliance.
Christina Montgomery, chief privacy and trust officer at International Business Machines Corp., urged Congress to focus regulation on areas that could cause the greatest harm to society.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)