OpenAI chief ready to call for more regulation of artificial intelligence

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will tell US lawmakers on Tuesday that regulation of artificial intelligence requires companies to be flexible and adapt to new technological developments, as the industry faces increasing scrutiny by regulators around the world.

Altman, whose company created the AI ​​chatbot ChatGPT, says “regulation of AI is necessary” as he testifies for the first time before Congress on Tuesday.

His comments come as regulators and governments around the world are scrutinizing the rapidly developing technology amid growing concerns about its potential misuse.

According to prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing, Altman will tell the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law that he “looks forward to helping policymakers as they determine how to facilitate regulation that protects balances and ensures that people are able to access the benefits of technology”.

Last week, EU lawmakers agreed a tougher set of rules on AI use, including a ban on chatbots like ChatGPT, as Brussels moves to impose the world’s most restrictive regime on the technology’s development. Are.

Earlier this month, both the US Federal Trade Commission and the UK competition watchdog fired warning shots at the industry. The FTC said it is “focusing intensely on how companies can use AI technology”, while the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority plans to launch a review of the AI ​​market.

Altman’s testimony will recommend that AI companies comply with an “appropriate set of security requirements, including internal and external testing before release” and licensing or registration conditions for AI models.

However, he stops short of this by stressing that security requirements that “AI companies (should) meet must have a governance system that adapts to new technological developments.”

The rapid development of generative AI, which can produce convincingly human writing, over the past six months has raised alarm among some AI ethicists.

In March, Elon Musk and more than 1,000 tech researchers and executives signed a letter calling for a six-month break on the training of an AI language model that is more powerful than GPT-4, the underlying technology from OpenAI for its chatbots. uses. Earlier this month, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton left Google after a decade at the tech giant for speaking freely about the risks of the technology, which he warned would increase social division and be used by bad actors. can be done.

“Artificial intelligence will be transformative in ways we cannot even imagine, with implications for Americans’ elections, jobs and security,” Republican Senator Josh Hawley said in a statement ahead of the hearing.

Christina Montgomery, vice president and chief privacy and trust officer at IBM, and Gary Marcus, professor emeritus at New York University, will also testify Tuesday.

“Artificial intelligence urgently needs regulations and safeguards to address its enormous promise and pitfalls,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, the committee’s chairman, said in a statement.

“This hearing marks the beginning of our subcommittee’s work under the supervision and illumination of the advanced algorithms and powerful technology of AI. , , As we explore sensible standards and principles to help us navigate this uncharted territory,” he said.

Additional reporting by Madhumita Murgia