AI has become more powerful in recent years, but it urgently needs global oversight. As ChatGPT and similar powerful AI models spread their influence, countries must create an independent body to keep companies using this technology accountable and safeguard against potential harms.
OpenAI researchers studying the labor market repercussions of AI models like ChatGPT estimated that about 80 percent of the US workforce could see at least 10 percent of their work tasks replaced, with 19 percent seeing half of their duties taken over by AI. This data-driven model has already begun to replace some human labor, such as that generated by image generating tech. With more and more AI-generated content being produced, experts worry that unless governed seriously, companies may prioritize profits over people.
Moreover, some experts worry that models like GPT-4 lack transparency, thus curbing the public’s ability to assess and verify contained data and the outcomes of their algorithms. Further, vast sums of funding have enabled some AI firms to create commercial products that are only available to a few.
As such, a mix of regulations and transparency measures are needed to ensure that AI is used to benefit society more broadly. This is where global governance comes in. Since AI runs on public data, it should also be available to the public, with adequate regulations and standards put in place to make sure it serves the good of society. For example, the NGO International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set up after the WWII to ensure nuclear technology complied with safety standards, can serve as a model for future global governance of AI technology.
Additionally, groups like Facebook’s Oversight Board can help with curbing the dangers of unchecked AI. They’re supposed to provide an interdisciplinary global perspective with the aim of helping to ensure that the public good comes first with any AI legal and ethical issues. However, the board still has room to improve, particularly when it comes to potential corporate capture.
Ultimately, global oversight of AI is essential in ensuring that the tech is used safely and responsibly. Governments, civil society, and corporations working together is the only way to truly protect people and industry from any potential harms posed by AI. For now, stakeholders should prioritize transparency while building mechanisms of accountability and oversight to create a more safe and healthy use of the technology.
The company mentioned in the article is OpenAI, an AI research organization and the firm behind the GPT-4 research project. Founded in 2015 by tech leaders such as Elon Musk, OpenAI pursues research in artificial general intelligence, hoping to advance digital intelligence in the way of human intelligence.
The person mentioned in the article is Samaya Sonyo, a lawyer and policy professional who works as part of OpenAI’s research team. She specialize’s in areas of tech policy, AI, ethics and policy, and specializes in laws and regulations related to AI and machine learning. Sonyo has also published several papers on the implications of artificial intelligence, and tests the boundaries and governance of AI as part of her work at OpenAI.
