The basic idea is that the AI landscape will see tremendous development and investment in 2023, especially in large language models. However, the industry’s emphasis on speculative concerns, dubbed “doomwashing,” eclipsed genuine consequences, prompting calls for increased democratic participation in creating AI policy in the future to ensure a balanced and ethical approach.
Highlights include:
- Impact of AI: In 2023, AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), had a substantial impact on social and economic connections.
- Microsoft spent $10 billion in OpenAI, while Google launched its chatbot, Bard, adding to the AI buzz.
- Industry Growth: Due to rising demand for AI-related products, NVIDIA’s market cap surpassed a trillion dollars.
- Amazon introduced Bedrock, while Google and Microsoft improved their offerings with generative models.
Key Challenges:
- AI Dangers: There were concerns about the dangers of LLMs and publicly deployed AI systems, but the particular risks were disputed.
- Over 2,900 professionals signed a statement advocating for a halt to powerful AI systems, focused on hypothetical existential concerns rather than tangible harms.
- Doomwashing: The industry’s increased prudence resulted in “doomwashing,” which emphasised self-regulation while downplaying the necessity for external control.
Key Concepts:
- LLMs stand for Large Language Models.
- AGI stands for Artificial General Intelligence.
- Doomwashing: Emphasising AI risks without addressing real difficulties in order to promote self-regulation.
- Ethicswashing is the use of ethical claims to divert attention away from underlying difficulties.
Key Phrases:
- Artificial Intelligence Political Economy: The impact of AI on data privacy, labour conditions, and democratic procedures.
- AI Panic: Exaggerating the significance of industry, supporting the notion that AI is too complicated for government regulation.
Important Quotes:
- “The danger of AI was portrayed as a mystical future variant, ignoring concrete harms for an industry-centric worldview.”
- “Doomwashing, akin to ethicswashing, plagued AI policy discussions, emphasising self-regulation by industry leaders.”
Statements of importance:
- The AI safety letter concentrated on hypothetical concerns, ignoring the urgent political and economic repercussions of AI deployment.
- Industry leaders embraced prudence, pushing self-regulation through fear mongering and opposing government involvement.
Examples and resources:
- Microsoft has invested $10 billion in OpenAI.
- Because of rising demand for AI-related gear, NVIDIA has a trillion-dollar market cap.
- Amazon’s release of Bedrock and Google’s addition of generative models to its search engine.
Key Facts:
- The US government persuaded key AI businesses to obey “voluntary rules” for product safety in July.
- The EU passed the AI Act in December, making it the world’s only AI-specific law.
Critical Thinking:
- The AI safety letter concentrated on hypothetical concerns, diverting attention away from genuine harms and the political-economic ramifications of AI.
- Doomwashing bolstered the industry-centric narrative while downplaying the importance of government regulation.
Source: https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/predictions-2024-artificial-intelligence/555487#:~:text=AI%20helps%20workers%20at%20all,will%20help%20drive%20economic%20growth.%E2%80%9D