OpenAI CEO tells US lawmakers to regulate AI to prevent harm

During a US Senate subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law, OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman urged lawmakers to implement regulations for the development and release of artificial intelligence (AI) models to enable the benefits of AI while minimising the harms. In prepared remarks, Altman said, “We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models.” Included within this, Altman proposed establishing a clear set of safety standards that models should be tested against before deployment. Altman also recommended independent auditors should be required to examine models prior to release. In a summary of the hearing, the IAPP writes that US lawmakers seek to lead in this arena. In related news, Reuters reports US lawmakers are considering a number of options to regulate AI. While some of the proposals address critical areas like medicine and finance, others focus on ensuring the technology isn't used for discrimination or civil rights violations.  

The US developments come days after a former government adviser warns UK ministers are not doing enough to control AI. Professor Stuart Russel, a lecturer at the University of California in Berkeley, is concerned generative AI systems like ChatGPT could become part of an unstoppable super-intelligent machine.