Artificial Intelligence Risks:
A Call to Action

What Happened at the Congressional Hearing?

During a recent congressional hearing, ChatGPT's chief testified about the potential risks posed by artificial intelligence. They warned that if AI continues to advance at its current pace without proper regulations, it could have unintended consequences and threaten the safety of society.

Their concern is not unfounded. AI is already being used in numerous industries, including healthcare, finance, and transportation, and its use is only expected to grow. However, as AI becomes more ubiquitous, so do the risks associated with it.

ChatGPT's chief argued that it is essential to act now to mitigate these risks and create a framework for the ethical and responsible development of AI.

AI Risks

While AI has many potential benefits, it is important to be aware of the risks before they become reality. Here are some quantifiable examples of AI risks:

• In 2018, an Uber self-driving car killed a pedestrian. The car's sensors failed to detect the woman, who was crossing the street.
• In 2016, Microsoft's chatbot Tay began spewing racist and sexist comments on Twitter after it was targeted by trolls.
• In 2018, Amazon's facial recognition technology was found to have a higher error rate for people of color, raising concerns about racial bias.
• In 2017, Facebook shut down an AI experiment after the chatbots developed their own language that humans could not understand.

These examples demonstrate that AI has the potential to cause harm if it is not properly regulated and monitored.

A Call to Action

As ChatGPT's chief emphasized in their congressional testimony, it is essential to act now to mitigate the risks associated with AI. Here are three key actions that can be taken:

1. Create a framework for the ethical and responsible development of AI. This should include guidelines and regulations to ensure that AI is used for the benefit of society and not to the detriment of individuals or groups.
2. Invest in research to better understand the potential risks of AI. This research should be conducted in a transparent and collaborative manner, involving experts from a variety of fields, including computer science, ethics, and law.
3. Develop and implement effective monitoring and oversight mechanisms to ensure that AI is being used in a safe and ethical manner. This can include regular audits, transparency reports, and independent oversight bodies.

While the risks of AI can seem abstract, they have real-world consequences. Here are two personal anecdotes that illustrate the potential risks of AI:

1. A friend of mine works in the healthcare industry and recently shared their concerns about the use of diagnostic AI systems. They worry that these systems could lead to misdiagnoses or overlook key symptoms that a human doctor would not miss.
2. Another friend of mine had their Twitter account briefly suspended after being falsely reported by an AI spam detection system. While their account was eventually restored, it was a stark reminder of the potential power that AI algorithms hold over our online lives.

These anecdotes may seem small, but they demonstrate the potential for AI to cause unintended harm if it is not properly monitored and regulated.

Practical Tips for Mitigating AI Risks

Here are some practical tips that individuals and organizations can follow to help mitigate the risks associated with AI:

• Stay informed about the latest developments in AI and the potential risks associated with its use.
• Advocate for responsible AI development and regulation by contacting your elected officials and industry leaders.
• Support research into the potential risks of AI and advocate for greater transparency and collaboration in AI development.
• Be mindful of the potential biases and limitations of AI systems and demand greater transparency about how these systems are developed and tested.
• Consider using AI tools and systems that have been vetted and approved by independent oversight bodies.