18 July 2020 | New Scientist | 5DONE wisely, artificial intelligence “can
be the best thing ever for humanity”, says
the fundamental physicist turned AI
researcher Max Tegmark in our interview
this week (see page 34). We subscribe
wholeheartedly to his assessment.
Seldom has there been a technology with
such an obvious power to improve our
lot – or one with such obvious dangers.
The risks are potentially existential.
The excerpt from our recently published
Essential Guide: Artificial Intelligence
(see page 46), a classic article from
strategy researcher Kenneth Payne on
AI warbots, provides a case in point. Yet
they are also insidious: in amplifying
biases, for instance against women and
minority groups, that exist in the data
AI feeds on; in undermining democracy
and the rule of law via the automated
propagation of information designedto play to prejudices; in entrenching
the economic power of companies that
control this technology, at the expense
of those whose jobs it takes.
The answers to these issues are simply
stated: more research, more regulation
and more agreement on where AI’sboundaries should lie. The work on ways
to balance AI accuracy and fairness we
report on in this issue (see page 12) is a
good example of how basic research can
help. There are encouraging signs that big
tech is finally, albeit reluctantly, waking
up to the idea that with the great power
AI grants comes great responsibility.Yet the scale of the challenges involved
means that, ultimately, governments
and international organisations must
step up to the plate. The Council of
Europe, which exists to uphold
democracy, human rights and the rule
of law across the EU, the UK, Russia and
other European countries, has already
made a start on exploring what sensible
regulatory frameworks for AI look like.
More action and urgency are
needed, however unfashionable
global cooperation might be right
now. The coronavirus crisis found many
governments asleep at the wheel, faced
with a pandemic that researchers had
warned for years was a matter of if not
when. We can’t afford the same mistakes
with AI. It could well be the best thing for
humanity – but we must think carefully
about what we want it to be now. ❚The benefit of foresight
Emerging technologies such as AI bring risks – so let’s regulate them now
The leader
“ The coronavirus crisis found
many governments asleep
at the wheel. We can’t afford
the same mistakes with AI”CONTACT US
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