Using the example of the production of semiconductor components, it is clear that the United States is trying by all means to limit China’s access to relevant technologies, and the rapidly developing segment of artificial intelligence will also not escape this fate. According to OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, the United States should lead a coalition of countries that will ensure the use of AI for the common good.
Image source: OpenAI Forum
These comments were made by Altman in a column in The Washington Post last Thursday, as noted by Business Insider. According to the head of the company that created ChatGPT, authoritarian regimes can shape the future of humanity using artificial intelligence technologies to strengthen their own power, but it is within the power of the United States and its allies to direct AI to serve the good of democracy.
Altman’s four-point plan is designed to ensure that the United States maintains leadership in the field of artificial intelligence. First, the U.S. artificial intelligence industry must implement stringent security measures to ensure that the coalition of allies maintains leadership in the field. This will require various kinds of innovations in the field of protecting data centers and other information infrastructure facilities. They, according to Altman, “will prevent hackers from stealing key intellectual property.”
The second point of Altman’s plan is to develop the right infrastructure. The US authorities, in his opinion, must convince the private sector of the economy to significantly more actively develop infrastructure facilities – from data processing centers to power plants. Among other things, this will create new jobs and turn AI into a “new industrial basis” for the American economy. At the same time, we need to train engineers, researchers and innovators. “They are our true superpower,” Altman said.
Third, US authorities should formulate clearer rules for cross-border data exchange. Existing export control and foreign investment rules must be adapted to reflect the realities of the artificial intelligence industry that needs to be developed across the planet. The rules must also describe where processed data, program code and chips will be stored. As Altman puts it, “It’s not just about exporting technology.” In reality, there is an export of values that are supported by technology, according to the head of OpenAI.
The fourth point of Altman’s plan calls on the US authorities to adhere to a global strategy for the development of AI technology, which would still not leave countries with growing economies behind the process. Altman calls for the creation of an analogue of the IAEA for artificial intelligence – an international agency that would control the spread of AI technologies for peaceful purposes.
In addition, Altman proposes to establish an investment fund that could attract material resources from countries willing to participate in the peaceful development of artificial intelligence systems. Or these issues should be supervised by a non-profit organization like ICANN, which promotes the development of the global network. Altman is convinced that a coalition of countries considered a stronghold of democracy can direct the development of artificial intelligence in a direction that brings the general benefit of humanity.