To most people, the word hacker has negative connotations, but many individuals in this often misidentified group conduct work for the betterment of the online world.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology — led by the growth of ChatGPT — has governments around the world concerned about its impact. The White House is taking steps to address these concerns, including the announcement of a mass hacking event at the DEF CON security conference later this year.
Why Is This Event Needed?
The presidential AI initiative emerges amidst increasing global interest and concern in controlling the technology, driven by the excitement and funding ignited by ChatGPT.
The Biden administration is serious about addressing the future of AI, and it's joined globally by many other governments. For example, legislative members of the European Union are finalizing revisions to a comprehensive AI Act that will limit and potentially prohibit certain AI applications.
While there are growing concerns around the use of AI, there's considerable use cases growing outside of chat-based applications, or instances that could threaten global jobs. For example, AtomBeam utilizes AI to compact data by up to 75% which increases data bandwidth 4x.
The White House-endorsed event will be conducted to identify vulnerabilities in generative AI systems. Numerous attendees, including hackers and policy specialists, will be tasked with investigating generative models from leading companies such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Nvidia Corp. and Stability AI.
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The event is being planned with the help of the AI Vulnerability Database, Humane Intelligence, Microsoft Corp. and SeedAI. A point system will be used to determine a winner, with a capture-the-flag format implemented to encourage participants to focus on various harmful behaviors.
The growing popularity of AI is forcing the hands of governments around the world. Detractors argue that many AI systems, while highly potent, remain enigmatic, posing risks such as promoting biased decision-making, displacing human employment, disseminating false information and possibly engaging in unlawful activities autonomously.
Despite the potential for misuse, AI companies continue to attract large audiences of users and investors.
In an opinion article published by The New York Times, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, noted that the current state of AI is similar to when Google and Facebook were new to the world.
"As the use of AI becomes more widespread, public officials have a responsibility to ensure this hard-learned history doesn't repeat itself," she said.
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