Global aviation has agreed safety standards so why can’t AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already playing a significant role in many aspects of people’s lives. While there is a clear advantage for those businesses and nations that deploy AI the quickest, there is an urgent need to implement guard rails.
This is no longer just a question of commercial advantage but rather about the harm that AI could inadvertently inflict on humanity.
A cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned that an AI Bill is needed “to address the scale and seriousness of threats posed to human rights”.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) listed in a report a range of human rights risks which existing regulatory and legal frameworks “are ill-equipped to prevent or respond to”.
But it’s not just human rights where AI safeguards are required. Last week a developer for AI firm Anthropic sounded the alarm over the rate AI was evolving and the direction it was headed in.
The company’s CEO Dario Amodei followed this up with a call for AI models to be slowed down and closely monitored. Bosses of rival AI firms have also said that they agree that the risks need to be carefully considered.
If those who stand to gain the most financially from the development of this technology are calling for caution, then politicians should take heed.
This is a job too big for one nation to tackle unilaterally. Just as there is a global consensus on safety standards in aviation, world leaders need to come to an agreement on safeguards around AI.
Safeguards that don’t unnecessarily step on innovation but ensure that human lives are not put at risk.