The White House recently held an AI summit with some of the top tech CEOs, during which President Joe Biden briefly visited. The summit focused on the potential dangers of AI and the responsibilities of private companies in developing and regulating the technology. CEO’s from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and AI startup Anthropic were all present, with Vice President Kamala Harris delivering a statement on the nature of the meeting.
VP Harris stressed the importance of companies adhering to existing laws that protect the people. President Biden offered the same sentiments, cautioning the tech companies about the “enormous potential and enormous danger” that AI poses. Following the meeting, the Biden Administration announced the National Science Foundation will spend $140 million on AI research and development, and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget will release policy guidance on the use of AI by the federal government.
In response to the White House’s summit, many tech experts, like Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Yuval Noah Harari, signed an open letter in March cautioning the leading AI labs and developers to pause their research. The agreement raised the question of whether or not AI could be used to spread misinformation and lead to job loss.
Renowned computer scientist and “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton recently resigned from Google with worries that everyday people would not be able to tell the difference between real and AI-generated content. A report by Goldman Sachs has also warned that AI could potentially displace up to 300 million jobs.
Google is an American multinational technology company that specializes in internet-related services and products. Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin from Stanford University in 1998, Google has since become the world’s most valuable brand. They are widely known for its search engine, cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.
Geoffrey Hinton is a Canadian professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, a research professor at Google, and VP Engineering Fellow at Google. Hinton is a prevailing figure in machine learning, invibve in the development of artificial intelligence and deep learning. He is a celebrated professor and author, commonly referred to as the “godfather of AI.”
