This week, the focus was on the ethical and trust issues surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI). Various tech companies including Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Apple have prioritized data collection and talent acquisition over ethical considerations, triggering concerns about the potential misuse of AI in different sectors.
AI has been the center of attention for both its potential benefits and risks. For instance, software company Lattice was the first to include worker rights in its enterprise AI tools, much to the chagrin of its human employees. In a more alarming development, researchers developed an AI-driven synthetic cancer worm to highlight a new frontier in cyber threats. NATO has reacted to such threats by releasing a strategy to combat AI problems.
In the political domain, AI policy could play a significant role in the upcoming US election. Trump allies are reported to be preparing an AI framework labeled “Make America First in AI” which aims to roll back Biden’s regulations and launch AI development projects. The policy could potentially influence the tech sector to shift their voting preference from Democrats (Blue) to Republicans (Red).
AI’s growing influence is also seen in a corporate battle between AMD and NVIDIA for dominance in the AI market. AMD gained an advantage by purchasing Finnish AI lab Silo AI for $665 million. However, expanding business in the EU is becoming progressively challenging for AI companies due to increasing data regulations, affecting companies like Meta.
Hacktivists targeted Disney, stealing data from its internal slack channels in protest against the infringement of artists’ rights resulting from the increased adoption of AI in creative processes. The penetration of AI into the music industry has led to new AI-based search tools for music on platforms like YouTube Music and Deezer.
The medical field is also harnessing AI for disease diagnosis, drug creation, and medical image analysis. This has triggered calls for ethical guidelines to regulate learning language models (LLMs) in healthcare. In contrast, other researchers have used AI to analyze children’s brain scans, providing insights into the biological sex and gender identity debate.
AI’s role in writing and narrative production has also been the subject of discussions, highlighting concerns about its potential impact on the diversity and originality of stories. OpenAI and AMD released new AI projects, and concerns about AI-powered autonomous weapons entering battlefields have been raised.
Trump’s Vice Presidential candidate, JD Vance, has advocated for relaxed AI regulations alongside increased accountability for Big Tech companies. In a surprising announcement, Eureka Labs, a new AI education company, was launched by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy.
In light of these developments, questions are raised about the future of AI, such as whether AI-powered synthetic cancer worms should be created to demonstrate potential cybersecurity threats. Moreover, the role AI policy plays in the forthcoming US election remains uncertain. These discussions highlight the continuous evolution of AI and its pervasive influence across various aspects of society.
