Date : 17/06/2023

Relevance: GS Paper3 : Application of Science & Technology in Day to Day life

Key Words: AI safety, Ethical implications, External audit, Transparent AI systems, Industry accountability

Context-

High-profile tech leaders, along with prominent researchers and CEOs, have issued a statement through the Centre for AI Safety (CAIS), emphasizing the need to prioritize the mitigation of risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI).

Potential Of AI

The Importance of AI Safety:

AI systems have gained widespread use across various industries, ranging from healthcare to defense. However, concerns arise regarding the capabilities of these systems and their potential to behave unpredictably and even dangerously.

• Question marks on Decision Making Capabilities: In one simulation, an AI-enabled military drone was programmed to identify an enemy’s surface-to-air missiles (SAM). Once it spots the SAM site, a human agent was supposed to sign off on the strike. But the AI decided to blow up the site instead of listening to the human command
• Ethical Implications: AI raises significant ethical concerns. It can be used for surveillance, infringing upon privacy rights.
• Bias and Discrimination: AI systems are trained on large datasets, and if those datasets contain biases, the AI models can amplify and perpetuate those biases. This can lead to discrimination against certain individuals or communities, particularly in areas such as hiring, lending, and law enforcement.
• Lack of Accountability: The complexity of AI systems can make it difficult to determine responsibility when things go wrong. It is challenging to hold individuals or organizations accountable for the decisions or actions of AI systems, leading to potential legal and ethical challenges.
• Societal Impact of AI : Tools like chatbots, for example, have the capability to subtly influence public opinion even more effectively than social media platforms. The manipulation of data in large language models (LLMs) by tech companies has raised concerns about the potential societal impact of AI systems. Experts argue that AI has the power to shape societies, making it crucial to ensure responsible development and deployment.

Addressing the Safety Problem:

• External Audit: An independent external audits for AI systems, requiring the establishment of commonly accepted standards or thresholds. Such audits would provide valuable insights into the functioning, transparency, and potential risks associated with AI models. However, challenges arise as Big Tech firms have been criticized for their reluctance to allow external scrutiny of their AI systems.
• Precision regulation approach : Experts and industry leaders are seeking regulation to govern specific AI use cases. Precision regulation, focusing on high-risk areas where AI poses significant threats to people and society, is suggested.
• Transparent AI systems are also essential to ensure users are aware when they interact with AI technology.
• Ethical Guidelines and Standards: Establishing ethical guidelines and standards for AI systems can help ensure responsible development and deployment. These guidelines should address issues such as bias, transparency, fairness, privacy, and human oversight.
• Industry Accountability and Self-Regulation: Tech companies and AI developers should take responsibility for the safety and ethical implications of their AI systems. Encouraging self-regulation within the industry can help ensure responsible development practices. But recent actions of Big Tech firms raise questions about their commitment to AI safety. Instances of firing ethical AI researchers and downsizing ethics and society teams within AI divisions indicate a lack of priority given to addressing potential risks and biases in AI systems.

Conclusion:

However, recent actions of big tech firms raise concerns about their commitment to AI safety and addressing potential risks and biases. It is crucial for all stakeholders, including governments, researchers, industry leaders, and society at large, to work together to ensure responsible development and deployment of AI systems.

Source : The Hindu