Open letter to all EU leaders
20 November 2023
Dear European leaders,
The recent events at OpenAI are likely going to lead to considerable, unpredictable instability.
The schisms on display there highlight the fact that we cannot rely purely on the companies to self-regulate AI, wherein even their own internal governance can be deeply conflicted.
Please don't gut the EU AI Act; we need it now more than ever.
Sincerely,
Gary Marcus
Gary Marcus is a leading expert on AI who testified to the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee. An Emeritus Professor at NYU, he is the author of five books, and CEO Founder of two AI companies, one acquired by Uber.
People have been warning about global warming since 1896 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_climate_change_science), and yet today the UN reported that we're now on track for 3 degrees of warming by the end of this century (https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/climate-track-warm-by-nearly-3c-without-greater-ambition-un-report-2023-11-20/).
The tendency for humans (and tribes thereof) to be primarily motivated by short-term self-interest is so deeply ingrained in human nature that (I strongly suspect that) we're going to make all the same idiot mistakes with AI/AGI, no matter the frequency or strength of the warnings.
The alignment problem doesn't just extend to technology --- humans are misaligned with humans.
Gary is right to sound the alarm to governments and in particular in Europe, since the U.S. is largely making only tentative moves (Biden last week or so). The Nov/Dec issue of Foreign Affairs has an article by James Manyika and Michael Spence. Manyika is at Google and Stanford, and Spence is a Nobel Prize winning Economist. Similar to what Mustafa Suleyman argues in his book, "The Coming Wave," there is a need for active government regulation and oversight of the use of AI systems. Manyika and Spence go as far as to point out that left of capitalism alone, AI will be used to cut labor and jobs and enrich a small elite leading to more income inequality (which might lead to dangerous forms of social activism). The recent comments by the Biden Admin on Elon Musk's support for hating members of the Jewish community is an example of how weak government can be against tech giants with power in the market place and in the minds of consumers/voters. Suleyman expresses deep concern about how slow governments and legislation can be and thus suggest more consumer activism and civil engagement. By Altman going to Microsoft and leaning toward the capitalist/money making priority side of AI development, the need for regulation has been heightened. (Altman may believe that there is no way to stop the AI/capitalist juggernaut, so he may as well join it and try to limit the damage as he becomes richer. One thing that is unclear in his career decisions is what AI-related investments are already in his private portfolio, and how those are influencing his choices.) Also, forms of resistance are needed by those likely to be affected, like artists, authors and others whose intellectual property is being sucked up without compensation or credit.