Despite the mounting concerns surrounding AI's gradual integration into various sectors in the world, Microsoft's co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates does not share the same sentiments with tech CEOs who expressed worries that AI may pose a threat to humanity.
In fact, Gates disagreed with the open letter by various tech executives including Elon Musk, that said that AI companies should halt development and address the risks associated with the emerging technology. Instead, Gates believes that development must continue to address world problems such as poverty and hunger.
The Microsoft founder reaffirms his stance in his new blog post on Tuesday. With the title, "The risks of AI are real but manageable," he argued that the world is capable of handling problems that may arise from breakthrough innovations.
Bill Gates on Manageable Risks of AI
Bill Gates acknowledged that AI's risks are "overwhelming," especially with concerns that machines will replace humans, AI's potential involvement in elections, and other threats to humanity. While he believes these are all fair concerns, he argued that there is a good reason to think humanity can deal with them.
"This is not the first time a major innovation has introduced new threats that had to be controlled. We've done it before," the billionaire wrote in the blog post.
"We're now in the earliest stage of another profound change, the Age of AI. It's analogous to those uncertain times before speed limits and seat belts. AI is changing so quickly that it isn't clear exactly what will happen next. We're facing big questions raised by the way the current technology works, the ways people will use it for ill intent, and the ways AI will change us as a society and as individuals," he added.
Gates noted that technological innovations such as AI might naturally invoke unsettled feelings. However, he argued that history has shown that it is possible to manage the challenges posed by emerging technologies.
He added that there are more reasons to be optimistic about managing the risks of AI while maximizing its benefits. It is worth noting that AI tools have been in the making for years, but it was only in 2022 when OpenAI's viral chatbot ChatGPT sparked an AI race amongst big tech companies and raised concerns about the use of generative AI.
Gates has even dared to claim that ChatGPT could replace teachers in the future. The billionaire envisions AI chatbots engaging students in conversation to help them identify areas they need to improve, a function human teachers can currently carry out.
Gates anticipated that AI would initially help learners improve their reading and writing skills and would subsequently provide writing advice to assist teachers.
Building AI Expertise
Bill Gates also wrote in his blog post that governments must build up expertise in the field of AI to create informed laws and regulations.
"They'll need to grapple with misinformation and deepfakes, security threats, changes to the job market, and the impact on education. To cite just one example: The law needs to be clear about which uses of deepfakes are legal and about how deepfakes should be labeled so everyone understands when something they're seeing or hearing is not genuine," Gates noted.
Various countries around the world are in the race to develop policies that will govern AI. The United States and European Union are at the forefront of these policies, and the United Kingdom will host the world's first AI safety summit this fall.
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