The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, warned US legislators on Tuesday to create regulations for artificial intelligence as it could develop into something “quite wrong.” Altman compared the development of AI to the printing press, stressing that significant harm from it could occur. The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Altman over the worries of AI powered chatbots, like ChatGPT. Among other things, they examined potential AI influence on elections. Altman responded that AI’s potential to manipulate public opinion is one of the most concerning issues.
Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked about the impact of AI on the job market, to which Altman responded that some professions will become automated while new jobs will be generated. This was the first of several hearings planned by the government to regulate developing AI programs like ChatGPT. OpenAI released ChatGPT late last year and since then, the app has become the fastest-growing in history reaching 100 million users within two months.
The tech industry’s leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, along with ChatGPT inventor Sam Altman, have asserted the importance of regulations to be established in order to control the development of AI amid fears of its potential consequences for humanity. Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the godfather of AI, has warned that AI is far more urgent threat to humanity than climate change. In order to ensure the protection of people from the dangers of artificial intelligence, regulations need to be enforced soon, especially before the 2024 US Presidential Election.
OpenAI is a San Francisco-based organization focused on the development of advanced artificial intelligence technologies. The company was co-founded by Sam Altman who is also its current CEO, and Elon Musk who left the company in June 2018. OpenAI works to develop trusted AI, especially through its research lab and it has recently started to deploy its technologies in areas such as robotics, healthcare, and finance.AI.
