Dive Brief:
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The impending rise of AI technologies and their unintended implications has Atti Riazi, CIO of the United Nations (UN), telling tech companies "you can't just create and innovate without thinking," according to an interview with Bloomberg. Regulations are not up to governments or the UN, but instead fall in the hands of those who create this new "species of technology, internet, with algorithms" that are "beyond our understanding," she said.
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One unintended consequence of AI is mass unemployment, according to Riazi. And because there are no existing rules in place to prevent abusive use of AI, cybersecurity also remains an issue to the UN CIO. Cybersecurity is already an issue in afflicted countries with old energy infrastructures, like Syria.
- However, if tech companies have the same concerns over AI, they are more reserved about speaking openly about them. Google CEO Sundar Pichai praised the advancements in AI and ML, claiming "humanity" as the "ultimate winner" of the technology, according to Google's annual Founders' Letter.
Dive Insight:
Riazi is making clear that unintentional side effects of AI cannot always be pre-calculated, but companies can at least try to combat those side effects with the expectation of their arrival.
The words of Riazi are reflective of Microsoft President Brad Smith, who insists that the tech community, which Microsoft is a prominent member of, has a "fundamental role" in protecting the public from threats within the cyberspace.
Though not every tech leader is as vocal about an AI apocalypse as Elon Musk, it is something that should at least be addressed, especially when AI is increasingly gaining "citizenship" in daily life and the enterprise.
Organizations are realizing that AI is a technology unrestrained by limits and with clear benefits. But preparation for a time when AI becomes even more ingrained in daily life is needed now, and this begins with resolving programmed biases and an underdeveloped AI workforce.