Insights from Industry Insiders and Watchdogs
Is there a hotter topic of debate in today’s world than the impact of artificial intelligence on society as a whole? Depending on who you talk with, it’s either giving us the life we’ve always wanted or it’s putting us on the slippery slope to Armageddon. One thing, though, that most people (including many inside the AI revolution) fear is that it’s moving a bit too fast and there’s not been enough regulatory intervention to ensure that we’re serving the greater good.
A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence
There’s a common misperception that artificial intelligence is a 21st century phenomenon, made possible by the digital revolution ushered in by the internet. While advances have moved much faster in the past 30 years, the concept of artificial intelligence was first proposed just a few years after the end of World War II, when mathematician Alan Turing sought to test (in 1950) whether a machine could think like a human (the so-called “Turing Test”). A few years later, scientist John McCarthy first used the term “artificial intelligence” and AI became a recognized field of study.
Though some scientists were toiling with AI models in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, it was generally a time referred to by individuals within the discipline as an “AI winter,” with little recognized advancements and little funding.
However, as the internet became a public phenomenon, interest in digital technology and artificial intelligence increased dramatically. Perhaps the most significant moment occurred in 1997 when an AI program defeated former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, demonstrating the power of the tool.
Is AI Moving Forward Too Quickly?
There seems to be a growing sentiment that artificial intelligence needs to put on the brakes just a bit. A recent public poll found that nearly three of every four adults (71%) felt that AI was developing at an unhealthy or unsafe pace. Furthermore, a number of top tech leaders have called for intentional efforts to reign in the growth of AI. Dario Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic, the AI research company that developed Claude, a family of AI-based language models, has urged AI labs and entrepreneurs to pace improvements to allow for safety measures. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has publicly stated his support of Amodei’s proposal and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has also called for measures that can maximize safety as AI expands.
Regulation May Be Essential to Change Public Perspective about AI
In a recent poll conducted by CNN, the clear majority of Americans (75%) said they were either afraid of or concerned about the rapid expansion of AI. Furthermore, a slight majority of Americans queried by the Pew Research Center (52%) said they thought AI would do more harm than good in their daily lives and anticipated that it would have a detrimental effect on society in the next 20 years. The hope, by those who believe in the ultimate benefits of AI, is that slowing down the process and ensuring that safety measures keep pace with growth will convert many of the naysayers.
