‘Artificial Intelligence Could be Harmful if Deployed Wrongly’ Google Chief Warns
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has been both exciting and concerning for many people, including Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai. In an interview on CBS’s 60 minutes program, Pichai said that the negative side to AI gave him restless nights and that the technology can be “very harmful” if deployed wrongly.
Pichai also called for a global regulatory framework for AI, similar to the treaties used to regulate nuclear arms use. He warned that the competition to produce advances in the technology could lead to concerns about safety being pushed aside. He suggested that governments would need to figure out global frameworks for regulating AI as it developed.
Last month, thousands of artificial intelligence experts, researchers, and backers, including Twitter owner Elon Musk, signed a letter calling for a pause in the creation of “giant” AIs for at least six months. They expressed concerns that the development of the technology could get out of control.
Pichai added that AI could cause harm through its ability to produce disinformation. He stated that “It will be possible with AI to create, you know, a video easily. Where it could be Scott [Pelley, the CBS interviewer] saying something, or me saying something, and we never said that. And it could look accurate. But you know, on a societal scale, it can cause a lot of harm.”
However, Pichai also acknowledged that the economic impact of AI would be significant because it would impact every product across every company. He added that “This is going to impact every product across every company, and so that’s why I think it’s a very, very profound technology.”
In the field of medicine, Pichai said that in five to ten years, radiologists could be working with AI assistants to help prioritize cases. He added that “knowledge workers” such as writers, accountants, architects, and software engineers would also be affected.
Pichai admitted that society did not appear to be ready for rapid advances in AI, stating that there “seems to be a mismatch” between the pace at which society thinks and adapts to change compared with the pace at which AI was evolving. However, he also expressed optimism, saying that compared to any other technology, he has seen more people worried about AI earlier in its life cycle.
In conclusion, the potential benefits of AI are vast, but so are the potential harms. It is essential to ensure that the development and deployment of AI are done in a responsible and safe manner. As Pichai suggests, a global regulatory framework for AI is necessary to ensure that the competition to produce advances in the technology does not lead to concerns about safety being pushed aside. While we cannot stop the progress of AI, we can work to ensure that its benefits are maximized while minimizing its potential harms.
Pichai was included in Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in years: 2016 and 2020.
Tags: artificial Intelligence
