With the rapid development and accessibility of AI models like OpenAI’s GPT-3, more and more people are questioning the implications of pumping the brakes on their development. Recently, more than one thousand business leaders wrote an open letter asking for a moratorium on the development of large language models like ChatGPT for a period of six months. This call to halt the advancement of AI technology brought up ethical questions about the signatories’ sincerity and hypocrisy, as well as the actual effectiveness of an AI timeout.
Since November, OpenAI has been at the forefront of the AI industry, first releasing GPT-3, then ChatGPT and most recently GPT-4. As a result, it quickly sparked the race to dominate the market, with providers like Google and Microsoft quickly following with their own large language models such as Bard. Even tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu have announced their own ambitious plans to develop new AI models.
OpenAI’s ongoing work in image-generating programs like Stable Diffusion and DALL-E has also caused a stir in the art and fashion world. But even still, it may not be feasible to stop the development of AI technologies.
Giuseppe Sette, president of startup Toggle AI, echoes that thought: “The field is simply too hot right now, and competition spans from Big Tech to China.” He adds that taking a moment to understand these systems would be a good idea but knows that it realisticly won’t happen. With such a huge demand for AI-powered solutions, market forces will keep the surge of AI development pushing forward, no matter what anyone says.
Co-founder and president of growth stage VC Sapphire Ventures, Jai Das, says that “in a free market society” it would be almost impossible to enforce a six-month pause on development. He argues that it would be more realistic for the industry to sit down and come to an agreement on an understanding of generative AI and how to avoid potential pitfalls it poses to society.
Regardless, it is clear that the development of AI is already out there. Now, it is up to the tech giants, startups, and the larger industry to come together to discuss the ethical and moral implications of the dangers posed by generative AI and come to an agreement on how it can best be used to benefit society.
Elon Musk is on the forefront of the open letter, and is a CEO, investor and engineer best known for founding multiple companies, most notably Tesla and SpaceX. Musk is unarguably one of the biggest influencers in the 21st century and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020. He has had a passion for technology since a young age, which has clearly paid off as his companies are valued incredibly high, acting as a strong boost to the entire tech industry.
OpenAI is a research laboratory dedicated to discovering and advancing AI technologies that benefit humanity, founded by Elon Musk and other prominent venture capitalists in 2015. With projects like GPT-3, OpenAI changed the course of AI development, kickstarting the AI arms race. The company has released several AI models and has formed partnerships with Microsoft, Slack, Instacart, and Klarna, to name a few. OpenAI strives to make AI more accessible, pushing the boundaries and pushing the world closer towards a future with AI.
