Sam Altman calls for the victory of “democratic AI” over “authoritarian AI”

In a WashingtonPost op-ed On Thursday, he said controlling artificial intelligence was the “pressing issue of our time” and meant the world faced a strategic selection.

“Will it be one in which the United States and its allies advance a global AI that spreads the benefits of the technology and opens access to it, or an authoritarian one in which nations or movements that do not share our values ​​use AI to consolidate and expand their power?” Altman wrote.

“There is no third option – and it is time to choose a path. The US is currently the leader in AI development, but its continued leadership is far from certain. Authoritarian governments around the world are willing to spend enormous sums to catch up and ultimately overtake us.”

He identified that Russian President Vladimir Putin had said, Winner of the AI ​​race “become the ruler of the world” and that China plans to be the world leader in AI by 2030.

Such regimes wouldn’t only use AI to consolidate their very own power, but they may also use the technology to threaten others, Altman warned.

If authoritarian governments take the lead in artificial intelligence, they may force corporations within the U.S. and elsewhere to share user data and use the technology to develop next-generation cyber weapons, he said.

To prevent this, he called for a US-led global coalition and latest strategies, emphasizing 4 key steps:

1. Develop robust security measures to make sure the coalition maintains its leadership position in AI.
2. Build “significantly larger amounts” of AI infrastructure, from data centers to power plants.
3. Create a “trade diplomacy policy” that sets AI export controls and rules for foreign investment.
4. Create models that can help the world set standards for the event and use of artificial intelligence, citing examples akin to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

“While finding the right decision-making body is important, the bottom line is that democratic AI has an advantage over authoritarian AI because our political system has given U.S. companies, entrepreneurs and academics the power to research, innovate and build,” Altman said.

If the democratic vision doesn’t prevail, the world could have no incentive to maximise the advantages of technology and minimize its risks, he added.

“If we want a more democratic world, history tells us we have no choice but to develop an AI strategy that helps us create that democratic world. And it is the responsibility of leading nations and engineers to make that decision – now.”

Altman’s commentary appears weeks after OpenAI announced Appointment of retired US General Paul Nakasone as latest board member Safety Committee.

This led to scathing criticism from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who warned: “Never trust OpenAI or its products.”

Others, akin to Elon Musk, have since stated that OpenAI has abandoned its original purpose of developing AI that will profit all of humanity in an effort to pursue business success as an alternative.

Such fears got here to a head in May, when OpenAI released GPT-4o with a voice option just like that of actress Scarlett Johansson. She said Altman asked her to lend her voice to the system last September, but she declined.

“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angry and couldn’t believe that Mr. Altman was aiming for a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets couldn’t tell the difference,” Johansson said.

OpenAI stated that the voice didn’t come from Johansson, but still prohibited using this feature.