Some AI insiders are skeptical that global regulation can be successful. One such person is Pierre Haren, who has been researching AI for 45 years.
His experience includes seven years at computer giant IBM, where he led the team that installed Watson super computer technology for customers. Debuted in 2010, Watson can answer a user’s questions, and was one of the pioneers of AI.
Despite Mr Haren’s background, he says he was “flabbergasted” by the emergence and capability of ChatGPT and other so-called “generative AI” programs over the past year.
Generative AI is, put simply, AI that can quickly create new content, be it words, images, music or videos. And it can take an idea from one example, and apply it to an entirely different situation.
Mr Haren says that such an ability is human-like. “This thing is not like a parrot, repeating what we feed into it,” he says. “It’s making high-level analogies.”
So how can we create a set of rules to stop this AI getting out of control? We can’t, says Mr Haren, because he says some countries won’t sign up to them.
“We live in a world with non-cooperative nations like North Korea and Iran,” he says. “They won’t recognise regulations around AI.
“The regulation of non-cooperative actors is pie in the sky! Can you imagine Iran looking for a way to destroy Israel and caring about AI regulations?”
