Davos 2024 Day 3: Global leaders discuss adoption of AI and its potential risks
UN chief warns against reckless pursuit of AI profits by tech giants
The picturesque Swiss town is buzzing with discussions centred on the future of AI during the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting.
Leading the discourse is the profound impact of generative AI and the pressing need to enhance its accuracy for broader applications.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger emphasised the necessity of achieving higher accuracy in generative AI to propel the technology into new realms of application.
"This next phase of AI will be about building formal correctness into the underlying models," Gelsinger remarked, acknowledging that 2024 will be pivotal in gaining the trust of executives in high-stakes industries such as healthcare and manufacturing.
The key challenge, as highlighted by Gelsinger, lies in ensuring the accuracy of generative AI in real-world scenarios.
"Certain problems are well solved today in AI, but there's lots of problems that aren't," he said.
Whether it's aiding doctors in diagnoses, monitoring assembly lines in warehouses, or facilitating automated driving, the technology must instil confidence among users in its precision, according to Gelsinger.
Clara Shih, CEO of Salesforce AI, echoed similar sentiments, highlighting the importance of experimentation and co-piloting tests to enhance accuracy and advance adoption.
Addressing concerns about the perceived threat of AGI, Open AI CEO Sam Altman, during a panel discussion with Bloomberg's Brad Stone, emphasised that AI is more of a tool than a replacement for jobs.
Altman expressed optimism, stating, "It'll get better, but it's not yet replacing jobs. This is a tool that magnifies what humans do, lets people do their jobs better, and lets the AI do parts of jobs."
UN chief warns of hastily pursuing profits from AI
In a stern address yesterday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres raised concerns about big technology companies recklessly pursuing profits from AI without adequate safeguards in place.
Guterres urged urgent action to address the risks associated with the rapid growth of the AI sector, comparing the potential consequences to those of the climate crisis.
During his speech, Guterres warned that every breakthrough in AGI increases the potential for unintended consequences, and he criticised the lack of a coherent international strategy to handle both AI risks and the climate crisis.
The UN head called out powerful tech companies for pursuing profits with what he termed a "reckless disregard for human rights, personal privacy, and social impact."
He also challenged representatives of the tech industry present at Davos to collaborate with governments in establishing robust frameworks for AI to ensure responsible development and deployment.
Stanford Professor advocates collaborative approach
During a thought-provoking session titled 'The World in Numbers: Jobs' Stanford University professor Erik Brynjolfsson pointed out that the implementation of AI in the workforce should be focused on complementing human skills rather than replacing jobs entirely.
Brynjolfsson, also the director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and co-author of the influential book 'Race Against the Machine,' argued that savvy companies recognise the distinct strengths of both AI and human workers.
Speaking about the evolving role of AI in the workplace, he stated, "It can happen through augmentation, and that means you don't try to replace the entire task or the entire occupation; you use the tool to augment it."
Providing a real-world example, Brynjolfsson discussed a study conducted in a call centre where generative AI was employed to assist operators. Within three to four months, the call centre operators were on average 14% more productive, with improvements in customer satisfaction and reduced employee turnover.
The success, according to Brynjolfsson, stemmed from allowing humans to leverage their strengths while letting machines handle tasks suited to their capabilities.