OpenAI President Sam Altman announced on Monday that he opposes the immediate imposition of strict regulations that would prevent the rapid development of AI technology, but stressed the need for institutional oversight in the long term.
Altman, ChatGPT, the company that created the chatbot, told US lawmakers last month that government intervention is needed to regulate the industry and prevent risks posed by artificial intelligence.
In remarks at Tel Aviv University, Altman insisted Monday that his call for censorship was not aimed at “today’s institutions.” “I think it’s a mistake to set strict rules now or try to slow down amazing innovation,” he said.
He said he recognized the danger of “disorganized superintelligence”, adding that it was “something we will have to contend with in the next decade, and the world’s institutions don’t have long to fix something”.
He reiterated OpenAI’s plan to create a “global system” of “computing power and technology … licensing models, reviewing their fairness and recommending tests for passability.”
“It would be a way to consider a very serious risk. We do the same for nuclear power, for example,” Altman said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The American businessman’s visit to Israel is part of his global tour to meet leaders and influencers as well as local talent and learn about the applications of artificial intelligence.
The ChatGPT bot was introduced late last year and demonstrated the ability to easily create articles, poems and conversations. The program’s massive success has raked in billions of dollars, but critics have warned that chatbots could flood the Internet with misinformation or that AI-powered automation could harm entire industries.
In a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday, Altman noted the “urgent need … to learn how to mitigate these huge risks.” “Everybody wants to know,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Altman in a phone call that Israel “could become a major global player” in the field of artificial intelligence.
In a statement, Netanyahu said his country, which already has a thriving high-tech industry, should “develop a national policy” on artificial intelligence.
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