An open letter signed by a range of big and small tech companies has committed to responsible development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at a time of increased public focus on the technology.
Four of the the most high-profile signatories of the letter are Google, Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, four of the most influential firms in global AI products – the latter is notable for being the creator of widely used AI platform ChatGPT.
Due to continued development, AI has become increasingly utilised for business purposes, such as automation of general day-to-day tasks, risk management, anti-money laundering and fraud prevention.
However, the rapid acceleration of AI’s abilities has led to concerns by some. The letter published today appears to be responding to these concerns, stating: “We call on everyone to build, broadly deploy, and use AI to improve people’s lives and unlock a better future.”
The latter continued: “AI is still early, but it’s on its way to improving everyone’s daily life: AI tutors to help anyone learn; AI translation tools to better connect the world; AI guided medical diagnoses to improve health care; AI-powered research to accelerate scientific discovery; AI assistants that you can talk with to help with everyday tasks.
“While AI is unique in directly augmenting human thought, we expect its impact to be more akin to the printing press, the combustion engine, electricity, and the Internet.
“The balance of its good and bad impacts on humans will be shaped through the actions and thoughtfulness we as humans exercise. It is our collective responsibility to make choices that maximise AI’s benefits and mitigate the risks, for today and for future generations.”
In the signatures section of today’s letter, various companies have offered views on the future of AI and the opportunities it poses. OpenAI, for example, referenced its own AI models used by more than two million developers and 100 million users a week.
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of signatures come from companies specialising in AI – Kumo.AI, Stability AI, Snorkel AI and Automorphic, to name some examples – as well as investment firms and software developers.
However, as noted above, some household names are also present on the list which, although make extensive use out of AI for products and services, are not solely invested in the technology.
Google’s statement read: “We believe that AI is a transformational technology that will provide compelling benefits throughout society — helping, empowering, and inspiring people in almost every field of human endeavour.”
The potential of AI is being discussed across a broad range of economic sectors, such as in finance and banking as noted above but also in industries such as gambling, where its use for player protection, AML and fraud prevention is widely discussed.
In the joint letter published today, the signing companies urged others to ‘please join us’ arguing that the firms “already are experiencing the benefits from AI, and are committed to building AI that will contribute to a better future for humanity”.
