Microsoft Chairman Brad Smith on Thursday called for the people behind artificial intelligence to be held accountable for the shortcomings, urging lawmakers to ensure security over the AI used to control the electric grid, water supply and other critical infrastructure.
Lawmakers in Washington have grappled lately with what laws to enact to control artificial intelligence even as companies large and small race to bring versatile AI to market.
“This is the fundamental need to ensure that machines remain under effective control by people, and that people who design and operate machines remain accountable to everyone else,” Smith said. “In short, we must always ensure that AI remains under human control.”
“New laws require operators of these systems to build security into high-risk AI systems by design,” he added.
He urged the use of a system such as Know Your Customer for developers of powerful AI models to monitor how their technology is used and inform the public of content so that people can tell what videos are fake.
The CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, Sam Altman, told the Senate committee in his first appearance before Congress that the use of AI to interfere with election integrity is an “area of significant concern,” adding that it needs regulation.
Altmann also called for global collaboration on artificial intelligence and incentives for safety compliance.
Some of the proposals being considered will focus on AI technology that could put people’s lives or livelihoods at risk, such as in medicine and finance. Others are pressing for rules to ensure that AI is not used to discriminate or violate civil rights.
The current concern has led to a series of meetings, including a visit by the CEOs of OpenAI, Microsoft and Alphabet to the White House this month.
