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We need to align AI regulation

2023-05-19T10:48:35.906Z

Highlights: The presence of artificial intelligence in the legislative procedures of 81 countries has increased almost sevenfold. Spain tops the list with 273 mentions, followed by Canada (211), the United Kingdom (146) and the United States (138) The race to regulate has begun and the world looks to the great powers for guidance. An atomization of rules that affect the most relevant technology of this century can have unintended consequences on almost everything, including international trade and the competitiveness of countries. The CEO of Google or Bill Gates see this impractical proposal to tackle the real problems presented by this advance at full speed.


An atomization of rules that affect the most relevant technology of this century can have unintended consequences: from 2016 to 2022, the world has gone from having a law on the matter to 37


Alphabet and Microsoft are two of the companies that are betting the most on artificial intelligence. DADO RUVIC (REUTERS)

We are at a historical moment in which, in the face of the rise of artificial intelligence, there is a general consensus on the need to regulate it. But how to do it correctly? In the last decade, the debate around the governance of this technology has gained momentum, multiplying policy proposals. A recent Stanford analysis put figures to the regulatory fever: from 2016 to 2022, the world has gone from 1 law on the subject to 37.

The presence of artificial intelligence in the legislative procedures of 81 countries has increased almost sevenfold. Spain tops the list with 273 mentions, followed by Canada (211), the United Kingdom (146) and the United States (138). And that's not to mention that one of the initiatives with the greatest impact is still to come: the European artificial intelligence law. What is clear is that there is a growing interest around the social impact of these new applications and a widespread cry demanding limits that guide their evolution. The race to regulate has begun and the world looks to the great powers for guidance because an atomization of rules that affect the most relevant technology of this century can have unintended consequences on almost everything, including international trade and the competitiveness of countries.

With the rise of ChatGPT and the first steps towards artificial general intelligence (AGI), the technical debate is focused on how to ensure that machines do not end up taking control. In the world, alignment aims to converge what you want systems to do and what they will actually do. This concern is what has led scientists such as George Hinton, to ask that "if there is any way to control artificial intelligence, we must discover it before it is too late" or even OpenAI researchers to share their fears about a technical development that misaligns with human interests and ethical principles.

Those who are developing this technology ask that it be stopped, but curiously only for 6 months, while many other prominent researchers such as Timnit Gebru affirm that more than a pause what is needed is regulation that reinforces transparency. The CEO of Google or Bill Gates see this impractical proposal to tackle the real problems presented by this advance at full speed. They consider that we are facing the "most important advance" since the creation of computers and mobiles.

Although there is no universal definition, AGI is understood as a computational system capable of doing any human task and generating new knowledge. It would be more appropriate to call it GodAI. Almost 40% of experts believe it could be a nuclear catastrophe, so even the most liberal entrepreneur is calling for regulation. However, rather than obsessing about regulating to contain something that has already overflowed, we should open a global conversation, not only between governments, that allows us to review the incentives that shape technological development itself and agree on guiding minimums for the coming years. A regulatory tangle difficult to implement and comply with in full deglobalization does not seem to be the best solution

To get an idea of the diversity of reactions by regulators to a technological application like ChatGPT we only have to take a look at the movements of recent weeks. China has introduced a set of rules for services based on generative artificial intelligence. Beijing's intention, reported by Reuters, is for companies to conduct security assessments before their products are launched on the market. Its guidelines put the onus on providers, who must ensure the legality of the data used when training their technological solutions, as well as implement preventive measures that avoid discrimination when creating algorithms and using the information collected.

Italy decided to block ChatGPT something that was later amended after privacy adjustments by the company. In this line, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has created a working group with all national data protection authorities that announce new research every day on the most popular company of the moment: OpenAI. Is there only one provider of these great language models? In contrast, countries such as the United Kingdom or India have chosen to avoid establishing strict regulations in this discovery phase. They seem to be betting on allowing technology to evolve freely with a view to unleashing their own technological ball that can boost their economies.

Given the diversity of strategies in different countries, with varied national and corporate interests, the idea of a unified framework for regulating artificial intelligence is seen more as a dream than a feasible option. What alternatives are in between? One of the recurring proposals in international forums is the creation of a global, neutral International Agency for Artificial Intelligence (IAI), with the guidance and participation of governments, large technology companies, non-profit organizations, academia and society. While international governance structures the conversation to reach a consensus on how to move forward at this technological inflection point, perhaps it would be interesting to update existing regulations and, in those new normative developments, collaborate between countries so that their approaches and requirements are aligned. It will be the only way to facilitate compliance.


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Source: elparis

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