Regulation is Key to Aligning Technology and Ethics

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The interplay of technical limitations, poor incentives, and inadequate government oversight leads to significant challenges in managing technology, particularly in AI. Disinformation and phishing attacks exemplify the inherent problems of technology that struggles to discern truth, making it vulnerable to misuse. AI alignment poses another serious challenge; current systems lack the ability to understand ethical directives, complicating the specification of human values. The absence of regulation and incentives creates an environment where developers produce misaligned technologies. To address these challenges, multiple interventions are necessary rather than a single solution. A comprehensive approach that addresses the complex nature of general-purpose AI is essential for fostering alignment between technological advancements and ethical standards.

It’s a confusing moment in AI. Depending on who you ask, we’re either on the fast track to AI that’s smarter than most humans, or the technology is about to hit a wall. Gary Marcus is in the latter camp. He’s a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist who built his own successful AI start-up. But he’s also been called AI’s loudest critic.

On Your Undivided Attention this week, Gary sits down with CHT Executive Director Daniel Barcay to defend his skepticism of generative AI and to discuss what we need to do as a society to get the rollout of this technology right… which is the focus of his new book, Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us.

The bottom line: No matter how quickly AI progresses, Gary argues that our society is woefully unprepared for the risks that will come from the AI we already have.

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

Link to Gary’s book: Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us

Further reading on the deepfake of the CEO of India's National Stock Exchange

Further reading on the deepfake of of an explosion near the Pentagon.

The study Gary cited on AI and false memories.

Footage from Gary and Sam Altman’s Senate testimony.

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Correction: Gary mistakenly listed the reliability of GPS systems as 98%. The federal government’s standard for GPS reliability is 95%.