A dozen EU politicians have signed a letter calling for the "safe" development of artificial intelligence, as Google's chief executive warned against releasing powerful AI technology before society has had a chance to adapt.
On April 16, European Parliament member Dragoş Tudorache shared an open letter on Twitter calling for collaboration and a common set of rules around the development of artificial intelligence. Tudorache, along with 11 other EU politicians named in the letter, asked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden to convene an AI summit and agree on a set of governing principles for development, control and deployment. technology.
"Recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) show that the pace of technological progress is faster and less predictable than policymakers around the world anticipated," the letter reads. "We're moving very fast."
The letter also asks the head of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to agree to a preliminary agenda for the proposed AI summit, and asks global companies and countries to agree on a preliminary agenda for the proposed AI summit, a joint effort between the U.S. and the European Union to address economic and technological issues. forum. In the process of developing artificial intelligence, it is necessary to "continuously enhance the sense of responsibility".
"Our message to industry, researchers and policymakers in Europe and globally is that the development of very powerful artificial intelligence demonstrates the need for attention and careful consideration. Together, we can steer history in the right direction," the letter said. said in. Google CEO Pichai Sundararajan, better known as Sundar Pichai, also expressed caution about the rapid development of artificial intelligence in an April 16 interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, saying society may take time to adapt to the new technology. "When a technology is very, very powerful, you don't want to roll it out like that because it gives society no time to adapt. I think that's a valid point," he said.
"There seems to be a mismatch in the speed at which we as social institutions can think and adapt compared to the speed at which technology is developing," he added.
However, Pichai also noted that while there are reasons to be concerned, he does feel "optimistic" because many people are concerned about the impact of AI so early in its life cycle compared to other technological advances in the past. "I think there are responsible people out there trying to figure out what to do with the technology, and so are we," he said.
The European Union is already focusing on AI with its Artificial Intelligence Act, while the European Data Protection Board has set up a working group to review ChatGPT, an AI-generated chatbot. The letter from EU politicians echoed the same concerns raised by more than 2,600 technology leaders and researchers who called for a temporary moratorium on further AI development, fearing "profound risks to society and humanity".
Other signatories to the open letter, published on March 22 by the Future of Life Institute (FOLI), a US think tank, include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak Ke and other AI CEOs, CTOs and researchers. While EU politicians agree with the "core message" of the FOLI letter and share "some concerns", they disagree with "some of its more alarmist statements".
Musk went on to stress what he sees as the possible risks of AI in an April 16 interview with Fox News, saying that like any other technology, AI has the potential to be misused if developed for malicious purposes.
