We can’t wait for an AI crisis before taking action
Technology is outpacing regulatory efforts. The UN meetings in Geneva this week are a chance to begin building a global agency for AI governance.
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There is an urgent need for an international AI agency, the writers say, as the technology is too important for its future direction to be left to a handful of companies or a small number of powerful states.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY
Simon Chesterman and Wendy Hall
On July 2, OpenAI’s Sam Altman called for a “simple framework’’ for governing advanced artificial intelligence. His proposal is not nothing. A US-led forum involving governments, independent technical experts and others would be better than leaving every country to improvise alone.
But the more striking point in his op-ed in the Financial Times is what is missing. Just as the United Nations process on AI governance enters its most important phase yet, the UN does not appear at all.
