Biden warns of potential AI technology dangers

WASHINGTON (AFP): President Joe Biden said at a meeting of advisors on the rapidly emerging artificial intelligence sector Tuesday that the jury is still out on whether AI poses a danger to society.

It “remains to be seen. It could be,” said Biden, when asked by reporters if AI is dangerous.

Biden told his White House council on science and technology, a group of experts from research universities and business, that AI could help combat “very difficult challenges like disease and climate change.”

However, he said they had to “address the potential risks to our society, to our economy, to our national security.”

“Tech companies have a responsibility in my view to make sure the products are safe,” he said. “Absent safeguards, we see the impact on mental health and self-image.”

Biden reiterated his earlier recommendations that Congress pass laws putting “strict limits” on personal data collected by tech companies and banning advertising targeted at children.

US companies are at the forefront of the burgeoning AI sector, which is transforming the power of machines to do everything from writing emails for people to driving their cars.

Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed a letter, along with some thousand other signatories, urging a pause in AI development.

“AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity,” said the open letter titled “Pause Giant AI Experiments”.