AI News: UN Boss Calls Out Big Tech’s ‘Profit-Driven Recklessness’

During the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting that was held recently in Davos, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, António Guterres, highlighted certain big AI firms that are recklessly profit-oriented.

AI Firms Shunning Social Impact Over Profit

According to the UN official, these AI firms are beginning to get too concerned with amassing profit at the detriment of human rights, personal privacy, and social impact. He strongly thinks they need to be urgently looked into as their actions pose serious risks for the technology sector. 

Guterres was precise in stating the level of threat that Artificial Intelligence presents generally. He talked about how every advancement and upgrade in generative AI increases the likelihood of risks. 

Furthermore, he associated these AI-borne risks with some others posed by Climate Change, citing that the international community has no strategy for dealing with them. Referencing a previous report from the International Monetary Fund, the UN Sec Gen acknowledged that AI technology has enormous potential, especially in terms of sustainability.

“This technology has enormous potential for sustainable development – but the International Monetary Fund has just warned that it is very likely to worsen inequality,” Guterres said.

Consequently, he urged representatives of AI firms to work closely with the government and the authorities to ensure that there is a regulatory framework for the innovative technology. At the same time, he encouraged governments and international bodies to become more intentional about playing a role in ensuring that AI is used for more good. 

OpenAI: From Non-Profit to For-Profit

Sam Altman’s OpenAI is one of the top AI firms that has reeled in so much profit within a short time of its launch. As of October 2023, the esteemed tech firm behind ChatGPT was valued at $86 billion, placing it ahead of renowned companies like Stripe and Shein. 

This outstanding valuation was one of the matters highlighted by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong when Altman was impeached a few months ago before he was later reinstated. OpenAI started as a non-profit but advanced access to GPT-4 and DALL.E requires subscription.

It is worth noting that beyond being reckless about profit making, many of these AI firms may engage in unhealthy competition within themselves which might further trigger more risk to the general public.