President Biden Praises AI's 'Enormous Promise' — But US Regulations Need A Software Update

While U.S. President Joe Biden has acknowledged the risks and "enormous promise" of artificial intelligence, the regulatory framework in the country still lags behind that of the EU and China. 

What Happened: Earlier this week, Biden held a meeting with AI experts, researchers, and advocates in San Francisco to discuss the risks and potential associated with AI. 

At the time, he emphasized the “enormous promise” of AI while also recognizing the urgent need to address its potential dangers such as disinformation and job losses, reported AP News. 

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"We'll see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50 years," he said, adding, "AI is already driving that change." 

According to Biden, social media has already demonstrated the detrimental consequences that technology can inflict "without the right safeguards in place." 

The rise of AI chatbots like OpenAI's chatGPT has sparked a surge in investments within the sector, enabling the creation of human-like text, music, images and computer code. While this automation has the potential to enhance worker productivity, experts caution against various risks associated with its implementation. 

The technology’s capacity to replace human workers has already raised concerns about potential job losses, while its utilization in creating deceptive images and videos poses a significant threat to the integrity of democratic elections. 

Why It's Important: The latest statements from Biden came at a time when calls for stringent AI regulations have picked up pace worldwide. These calls are in one way or another linked with the "open letter" signed by the likes of Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak which demands an immediate pause in AI developments "more powerful" than OpenAI's GPT-4. 

Governments globally, including the EU, have expressed their determination to implement regulations and safeguards to curb the potential negative impacts of AI before it reaches a critical point. 

Earlier this month, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that Britain would host a high-profile global summit later this year dedicated to addressing the safety concerns surrounding AI. The EU appears to be moving forward with a piece of legislation called the AI Act, that seeks to broadly regulate the technology

Musk has also stated that, as per his understanding, China would soon be initing AI regulations. The tech billionaire's statements came after his meeting with some of China's senior leaders during his much-talked-about two-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai. 

In contrast, despite the release of a comprehensive 56-page document by the Biden administration, which thoroughly assesses the potential risks of AI to American citizens, the proposal has yet to receive sufficient traction in Congress. 

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