AI companies are creating the problem and the solution, says AI expert | The Business | ABC NEWS
An expert in robotics, AI and automation has questioned the position of AI giants such as Anthropic, that are seeking trillions of dollars in investment, while at the same time warning their technology poses an unacceptable threat to humankind.
Dr Sue Keay, director of the UNSW AI institute, says an essay from the boss of AI juggernaut Anthropic, Dario Amodei – which gained a rare show of support from rival tech titans, Open AI’s Sam Altman, and SpaceX boss Elon Musk – calling to slow down the pace of AI development to allow regulation to catch up or run the risk of a serious threat to humanity, is genuine, but looks at the issue through a narrow lens.
“You do have to wonder at the amount of free publicity that a lot of these stories are giving for the companies that are, in many cases set to look for trillion-dollar IPOs and inducing this fear and anxiety and sense of urgency it really strengthens their case that people must invest in this technology or somehow we will be destroyed by it,” she says.
“So on the one hand, they’re creating the harms, and on the other hand, they’re trying to convince us that we need to invest in this technology so that we can mitigate against those harms.”
Despite warnings from the AI giants, US President Donald Trump brushed the call aside, saying the US is leading China and wants to keep it that way.
However, Dr Keay says it’s ironic that the US can’t regulate because it is concerned that will slow down development and they will lose a race with China, while Beijing has a very different approach in that they regulate their models “very well” and are trying to mitigate against the harms that these models are causing to their citizens.
“So if China is taking the position that they can both regulate and compete in this race, it seems unusual that the US wouldn’t take the same position, except for the fact that there are a lot of commercial interests involved.”
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