On Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before the Senate on the dangers posed by AI developments and urged lawmakers to enact regulations.
Over the past six months, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a consumer-facing artificial intelligence system, has seen massive adoption among knowledge workers who utilize it to speed through routine chores like coding and email composing. After having dinner with 50 senators and representatives on Monday, Altman spoke in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, saying that the company’s technology will have “profound impacts” on society.
As the repetitive tasks of many professions are automated, some observers argue that AI systems will make workers significantly more productive, leading to economic development and increased opportunity for creative employment.
But some worry that the proliferation of highly developed AI solutions may lead to a surge in technological unemployment. According to a recent prediction by Goldman Sachs, AI might eliminate 7% of jobs in the United States, primarily in sectors that rely on office labor like administrative support and legal, while employment in areas like construction and logistics is expected to remain substantially intact.
Some cities and governments have tested universal basic income programs to mitigate the effects of potential technological unemployment in recent years.
Altman elaborated, saying everyone realizes that cutting-edge AI techniques may have far-reaching effects on the job market, both good and potentially harmful. AI can improve user productivity, new job creation, employment transformation, and job displacement, but they’re trying to determine each variable’s impact.
Legislators and IT experts have pointed out that the proliferation of fake news and so-called deep fakes might affect news cycles and destabilize the judicial system and the potential economic implications of the new inventions.
OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, the Apple co-founder, made headlines when they were signatories on an open letter for the Future of Life Institute calling for a six-month moratorium on developing AI solutions; veteran computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton resigned from his position at Google due to his concerns about AI.
