Executives typically do not support further regulation of their industry. But ChatGPT and others are so powerful — and their impact on society will be so great — that regulators need to get involved now.
That’s according to Mira Murati, chief technology officer at OpenAI, the venture behind ChatGPT.
“We are a small group and we need more input in this system and more input that goes beyond technology – of course regulators and governments and other people,” Murati said in a Time interview published Sunday.
ChatGPT is an example of “generative AI,” which refers to a tool that can, among other things, send answers, images, or even music within seconds based on simple text prompts. But ChatGPT will also be used for AI-infused cyberattacks, researchers at Blackberry warned this week.
To offer these tools, AI ventures need cloud computing resources that only a handful of tech giants can provide, thus creating lucrative partnerships with Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. In addition to raising antitrust concerns, the arrangement makes it possible for generative AI tools to reach large audiences faster—perhaps faster than the public is prepared for.
“We weren’t anticipating this level of excitement from putting our child in the world,” said Murati Time, referring to ChatGPT. “We, in fact, even have some trepidation about putting it out there.”
But since its release in late November, ChatGPT has reached 100 million monthly active users faster than TikTok or Instagram, UBS analysts noted this week. “In 20 years after the internet space, we cannot remember a faster ramp in consumer internet applications,” he added.
Meanwhile Google, under pressure from Microsoft’s tie-up with OpenAI, is accelerating its efforts to get more AI tools to consumers. On Friday, Google announced a $300 million investment in Anthropic, which has developed a ChatGPT competitor called Claude.
Anthropic, in turn, was launched largely by former OpenAI employees concerned about business interests overriding AI security issues in ChatGPT developers.
Artificial intelligence “can be abused, or it can be used by bad actors,” Murati said Time. “So then there’s the question of how do you manage the use of this technology globally. How do you manage the use of AI in a way that aligns with human values?
Elon Musk helped start OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit, which no longer exists. Tesla’s CEO has warned of the threat of advanced AI to humanity, and in December he called ChatGPT “pretty scary,” adding, “We’re not far from a very dangerous AI.” They tweet in 2020 that confidence in the safety of OpenAI is “not high,” noting that it started as open source and non-profit and that “nothing is true.”
Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently said, “AI will be the hottest topic in 2023. And you know what? That makes sense. It’s as important as the PC, as important as the internet.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban said last month, “Imagine what GPT 10 will be like. He added that generative AI is the “real deal” but that “we’re still in our infancy.”
Asked if it was too early for regulators to get involved, Murati said Time, “It’s not too early in the morning. It is very important for everyone to start participating, because of the impact of the technology.
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