Brad Smith, Microsoft President, recently called for better regulation of Artificial intelligence from government officials and lawmakers. This week, the tech industry bigwig went to Washington, DC, where he urged the officials to put up policies to regulate and provide better risk management of technologies governing generative applications such as ChatGPT.
Smith’s plea to governments and corporations
Microsofts president has urged governments to move faster in their regulations while at the same time asking corporations to step up amidst rapid AI development. Speaking before a panel of lawmakers on May 25, Smith highlighted two things that ought to be of major concern in the United States to mitigate the unforeseen risks presented by AI.
He stated that the first issue would be to enable innovation with proper regulations in place to assure the public that there is a strategy to do the same responsibly. In a recent tweet, he stated that”
AI may be the most consequential technology advance for a lifetime. Today we announced a 5-point blueprint for Governing AI. It addresses current and emerging issues, brings the public and private sector together, and ensures thus tool serves all society.
Brad Smith
Microsoft also called for corporations to initiate safety brakes for AI technology and develop a more comprehensive regulatory and legal framework governing AI; the tech giant states that a new government can implement such policies to get ahead of potential risks presented by AI.
Microsoft presented a 40-page report as part of the activities in Washington, which laid out the various ways in which AI technologies may be regulated where suggestions such as developing mechanisms that deter AI from defrauding people, adopting already existing laws to new technologies, promoting transparency in AI development and introducing licensing systems for AI.
Smith highlighted the need not to leave this regulation to technology companies alone, stating it should be a shared responsibility in the introductory part of the report, namely: “Governing AI : A Blueprint for the Future.”
Microsoft recognized the potential risks presented by AI, stating in the report
We need to acknowledge the simple truth that not all actors are well-intentioned or well-equipped to address the challenges that highly capable models present. Some actors are likely to use AI as a weapon and not a tool, and others will underestimate the safety challenges that lie ahead.
Microsoft
The rapid developments in AI have already presented threats to privacy and human dignity where convincing deep fake videos are already being used to spread misinformation across the internet and massive job losses caused by rapid automation.
The sentiments erupt even as Microsoft works on AI and develops new chips that would power ChatGPT and OpenAIs Chatbot. Smith further highlighted that pace matters, and if the United States moved too slowly, it would fall behind.
Concerns over AI regulation
OpenAI CEO also expressed his concerns over the regulation of Artificial Intelligence when he testified before Congress, pushing for a regulatory framework to oversee the licensing of AI companies on May 16. This statement was endorsed by Microsofts CEO, who added that AI development should only be done by licensed centers.
This was after the nonprofit Future of Life Institute issued an open letter in March that called for a halt in developing AI systems beyond the OpenAI GPT-4, stating that it could have profound risks for humanity. The letter was attested by more than 1000 people, including academic and tech experts such as Elon Musk and Noah Harari, author of ‘Sapiens.’ He stated
Over the past couple of years, new AI tools have emerged that threaten the survival of human civilization; AI has gained some remarkable abilities to manipulate and generate language. AI has thereby hacked the operating system of our civilization.
Noah Harari
It seems unusual for tech companies to seek regulation over their activities; Microsoft has, over the years, set itself aside by calling for regulation of technological developments such as social media. Despite the clarion call to governments and corporations, achieving such regulations will require both a national and international framework for effectively regulating such technology and mitigating potential risks.
