(VitalNews.org) – Is artificial intelligence (AI) developing faster than regulators can keep up with it? That’s what the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom believes and announced a plan to tackle last week.
In a speech delivered at a United Nations general assembly last Friday, Oliver Dowden sounded the alarm about AI and a lack of regulation of these systems. Dowden said AI is developing much quicker than anticipated by policymakers and will soon grow out of control if something isn’t done to keep the technology in check.
Dowden also urged other nations to join forces to launch a unified international regulatory system for AI, a plan the UK promoted heavily as hosts throughout the UN summit in Bletchley Park. Dowden said a “starting gun has been fired” regarding AI, launching “a globally competitive race.” Such a race will motivate companies and countries to “push the boundaries as far and fast as possible,” Dowden said.
Much like the Space Race between America and the Soviet Union, AI represents a new technological frontier that will inevitably be of interest to weapons manufacturers and governments. AI is also changing the education system, the art world, and the internet as a whole. Images generated by AI of public figures are already causing a stir online as some users are beginning to believe the pictures to be real, and this has serious implications for the political process and elections. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis already received backlash for using AI-generated depictions of former President Donald Trump in a campaign ad.
Dowden said leaders of the past typically responded to new developments in science and technology “with retrospective regulation,” but that in the case of AI, “necessary guardrails, regulation, and governance must be developed” alongside the tech “in a parallel process.”
In March, Future of Life Institute published an open letter calling for what Dowden is now calling upon the UN to consider: a regulatory system on AI. The letter, which was published by over 1,000 prominent tech developers and scientists, including SpaceX founder Elon Musk, went even further and called for a temporary pause on developing AI systems for at least six months until proper guidelines and regulatory protocols can be put in place.
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