Seven reasons Congress must address, act on the risks of AI

We are only beginning to fully understand the ethical challenges and potentially disastrous consequences posed by artificial intelligence.

Stephen Hawking warned that “the development of artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” And in 2018, Elon Musk admitted, “I'm very close to the cutting edge in AI, and it scares the hell out of me.”

Tech leaders understand the need to regulate AI. While testifying before Congress on May 15, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that Congress create an agency that would issue licenses for large-scale AI models.

He also urged that the agency craft safety regulations and tests that AI models must pass before being released to the public.

That may be just the start of what is a massive undertaking — one that Congress and the tech industry can no longer postpone and must attack with alacrity and bipartisanship.

For better and worse, the extent of AI's reach carries the potential to transform every aspect of our lives. Consider the risks posed by AI in just these seven areas:

• Military: AI presents new ethical questions in war, including the degree to which military systems and strategic decision-making powers will be empowered by artificial intelligence. For example, should autonomous military systems be allowed to independently search for and engage targets based on programmed constraints and descriptions. Who will take responsibility if an AI military system goes “rogue” with devastating results?

• Jobs: A new report from Goldman Sachs says that AI could eventually replace a quarter of the full-time jobs in the United States and Europe. Computer programmers, marketing researchers, media workers and

teachers are among those believed to be vulnerable to AI's capabilities. Tech officials are fond of saying AI will create as many jobs as it eliminates, but is that really true? And what training will be needed to fill those jobs?

• Privacy: The surveillance potential of AI is off the charts. Facial recognition technology has many beneficial aspects, including

finding missing persons and making shopping more efficient. But it also makes it possible for governments — and others — to track individuals' comings and goings. Congress has made zero progress in the last decade on protecting Americans' privacy from tech companies tracking their every move for profit. AI exponentially increases the problem.

• Bias: AI algorithms are increasingly guiding potentially life-changing decisions in such areas as hiring, health care and policing.

But the algorithms are only as good as the information provided to systems, as recent cases of AI racial and gender discrimination reveal. How can AI technology ensure that biases aren't built into the system?

• Education: An estimated 30% of college students are already using ChatGPT. And that's just the beginning of how AI could transform our education system at all levels. AI carries the potential to provide greater access to educators and tools to speed the process

of learning. But AI must be developed in a way that doesn't stifle students' learning processes and creativity. It must also avoid bias in what students learn and not exacerbate the ever-widening achievement gaps in our schools.

• Cybersecurity: The world hardly needs smarter systems to threaten our electrical grid and financial institutions, much less ease ransomware attacks. Those who would do us harm have a long history of staying one step

ahead of those protecting us against attacks. What can be done to reduce the threat of cyberattacks as AI increasingly manages our most important infrastructure?

• Misinformation, disinformation: We've seen the damage created by misinformation and disinformation campaigns. AI makes it ridiculously easy to exponentially accelerate that threat to our democratic institutions. What can AI do to stop those campaigns in their tracks?

Given the billions and billions of dollars at stake, tech companies aren't about to slow their AI development progress.

Artificial intelligence is going to dramatically and swiftly change the world. The challenges of devising rules and regulations requires that the tech industry immediately begin working with government officials on laws and regulations to hold AI creators accountable.

The future of our society depends on it.