'AI could be dangerous': Biden warns of risks to society as ChatGPT gains ground

Amid buzz over ChatGPT, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that artificial intelligence (AI) could be risky and tech companies need to make sure their products are safe before making them public. He said AI can help deal with some very difficult challenges like disease and climate change, "but we also have to address the potential risks to our society, to our economy, to our national security".

The launch of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, is seen as an advanced technological innovation in recent times. Its ability to answer complex questions has puzzled many, who now fear that it may leave many jobless. Some also worry about its possible misuse. Just recently, some tech experts called for a pause for at least six months on the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, the most advanced version of ChatGPT.

On Tuesday, US President Biden met with his council of advisors on science and technology. Addressing the press, Biden said last October, his government proposed a bill of rights to ensure that important protections are built into the AI systems from the start, not have to go back to do it. "And so, tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public," he said.

Biden said that social media had already shown the harm that powerful technologies can do without the right safeguards in place. "Absent safeguards, we see the impact on the mental health and self-images and feelings and hopelessness, especially among young people," he added.

When asked whether he thought AI was dangerous, Biden said: "It remains to be seen. It could be." He reiterated a call for Congress to pass bipartisan privacy legislation to put limits on personal data that technology companies collect, ban advertising targeted at children, and prioritise health and safety in product development.

Reuters reported that the tech ethics group Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy has asked the US Federal Trade Commission to stop OpenAI - an artificial intelligence research company - from issuing new commercial releases of GPT-4, which has appalled users with its human-like abilities to generate written responses to requests. Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy has urged society to pause as it considers the ramifications of AI.

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