How to govern AI — even if it's hard to predict | Helen Toner
May 1, 2024
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Helen Toner, AI policy researcher and former OpenAI board member, discusses governing AI despite its unpredictable nature. She emphasizes the importance of smart policies to shape the future we want, focusing on transparency, diversity, and adaptability in regulating AI advancements.
Governance of AI requires adaptive policy-making to navigate its unpredictable evolution.
Transparency and engagement are crucial for steering AI towards positive societal impacts.
Deep dives
Understanding the Complexity of Artificial Intelligence
AI, a revolutionary technology, poses challenges due to its complexity. Experts admit to the limitations in their understanding of AI's internal workings, hindering predictions of its capabilities. The lack of consensus on what defines intelligence further complicates AI development, leading to diverse expectations. This ambiguity extends to distinguishing between narrow and general AI, adding uncertainty to the technology's future implications.
Navigating Governance in the AI Landscape
Governance strategies for AI are essential despite the challenges in comprehending and forecasting its advancements. Advancements in AI interpretability offer hope for unraveling the 'black box' intricacies of AI systems. Emphasizing adaptability over certainty, the approach involves enhancing measurement mechanisms, promoting transparency through AI company disclosures, and implementing incident reporting frameworks to monitor and address AI-related risks.
Empowering Individuals in Shaping AI Futures
Individual engagement is pivotal in steering AI development towards beneficial outcomes. Highlighting the importance of proactive policies, the discourse urges active participation in shaping equitable AI landscapes. Proposals encompass leveraging measurement, disclosure, and incident reporting practices to enhance societal awareness and influence the trajectory of AI advancements.
No one truly understands AI, not even experts, says Helen Toner, an AI policy researcher and former board member of OpenAI. But that doesn't mean we can't govern it. She shows how we can make smart policies to regulate this technology even as we struggle to predict where it's headed — and why the right actions, right now, can shape the future we want.