In a time when the world is gearing up for two major elections in 2024, one being the US presidential election and the other being the General Elections 2024 in India, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has revealed the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our society.
Altman, speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, warned that humanity is currently on a path to self-destruction right now. However, he believes that AI, being the most transformative and beneficial technology humanity has yet invented, could be the solution if we can mitigate the downsides.
He said, “We need new ideas, we’re on a path to self-destruction as a species right now. We need new technology if we want to flourish for tens and hundreds and millions of years more. And I think a lot of people see the potential of that in AI. It is not a like a clean victory and we do have to mitigate the downside.”
AI: A transition from scarcity to abundance
Altman envisions the 2020s as the decade where humanity as a whole begins the transition from scarcity to abundance. He predicts an era of abundant intelligence that far surpasses our expectations, along with abundance in energy, health, and a few other categories.
He said, “This will be the most transformative and beneficial technology humanity has yet invented. The 2020s will be the decade where humanity as a whole begins the transition from scarcity to abundance. We’ll have abundant intelligence that far surpasses our expectations, the same thing for energy, the same thing for health and few other categories too. I think this is gonna be greatest leap forward that we’ve taken so far.”
AI and Elections: A double-edged sword
With the upcoming elections in the US and India, Altman anticipates that the influence of AI, both known and unknown, will come to the fore. He stresses the need for a strong feedback loop in society to debunk misinformation.
However, Altman, along with Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and Google Senior Vice President James Manyika, also acknowledged the risks associated with AI, especially in an election year. Altman expressed concern about the unknown risks, which could include innovations in personalised persuasion.
The role of tech giants
Cox revealed that Meta is focusing quite seriously on its role in elections. While acknowledging that AI could exacerbate some misinformation problems, he also noted its usefulness in detecting harmful content before it spreads.
Cox mentioned that Meta had collaborated with a variety of people, including White House officials and other elected leaders, in developing its artificial intelligence large language model, Llama 2.
The need for regulation
Altman, who has been vocal about the need for government oversight of AI, stated that big regulatory changes aren’t needed for current versions of the technology, but would be soon. He suggested that when a model can do the equivalent output of a whole company, a whole country, or a whole world, there might be a need for some collective supervision.
In conclusion, as we approach the major elections of 2024, the role of AI in shaping public opinion and ensuring the integrity of the democratic process will be under intense scrutiny. The statements by Altman and other tech leaders highlight the potential benefits and challenges that AI presents in this critical period.
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