The US president joked as he warned of the dangers of artificial intelligence following a meeting with Big Tech leaders
\u2018I am the AI\u2019 \u2013 Biden
U.S. President Joe Biden arrives to give remarks on Artificial Intelligence in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on July 21, 2023 in Washington, DC \u00a9 Getty Images \/ Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images
US President Joe Biden declared \u201cI am the AI\u201d on Friday as he called for safeguards to govern the development of artificial intelligence following a meeting with tech leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In apparently unscripted remarks as he approached the podium to deliver an address, 80-year-old Biden added that \u201cif any of you think I\u2019m Abe Lincoln, blame it on the AI\u201d before warning that unregulated development of technologies \u2013 such as ChatGPT \u2013 could threaten \u201cour democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe must be clear-eyed and vigilant about the threats emerging technologies can pose \u2013 don\u2019t have to \u2013 but can pose to our democracy and our values,\u201d Biden said. His comments followed a meeting with representatives from tech companies including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House announced afterwards that a deal had been agreed with developers of the technology to manage potential risks posed by artificial intelligence, including independent security testing and the introduction of watermarks to clearly signal when online content has been artificially created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden\u2019s comments come amid concerns about the unfettered growth of AI and its potential impact on employment sectors and the spread of misinformation and disinformation online, particularly in the lead-in to the 2024 US presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI is \u2018quite stupid\u2019 \u2013 Meta
Read more AI is \u2018quite stupid\u2019 \u2013 Meta
\u201cCompanies have agreed to find ways for AI to help meet society\u2019s greatest challenges,\u201d Biden explained, touting the \u201cenormous opportunities\u201d that the technology can present. He added that the US would \u201cwork with our allies and partners on a common international framework to govern the development of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some critics of the US government\u2019s attempts to manage the development of AI have pointed to backlash against similar measures imposed to control \u2018disinformation\u2019 on social media, particularly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to accusations of a partisan slant in moderation policies on social networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since its public release in November 2022, OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT \u2013 as well as other language models like Google Bard, which followed four months later \u2013 have signaled a new frontier in online content creation. They have also yielded existential concerns, including from Big Tech leader Elon Musk, about the long-term implications that artificial intelligence may have on society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, other industry leaders \u2013 including Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg \u2013 have said that some of the more apocalyptic scenarios posed by skeptics are unfounded. \u201cHype has somewhat run ahead of the technology,\u201d Clegg said this week following the launch of Meta\u2019s open-source language model \u2018Llama 2\u2019. \u201cIn many ways, they\u2019re quite stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n