While exactly how these models are regulated in the AI Act is still hotly debated, creators of general AI models, such as OpenAI, Google, and DeepMind, may need to be more open about how their models work. Dragoş Tudorache, a liberal member of the European Parliament, was part of the AI bill negotiating team.
Regulating these technologies is tricky, Because there are two different sets of problems relevant to generative models, and they have very different policy solutions, says Alex Engler, an AI governance fellow at the Brookings Institution. One is the dissemination of harmful AI-generated content, such as hate speech and non-consensual pornography, and the other is the potential for biased results when companies integrate these AI models into their hiring processes or use them to review legal documents.
Sharing more information about the model may help third parties building products on top of the model. But when it comes to spreading harmful AI-generated content, stricter rules are needed. Creators of generative models should be required to limit what the models will produce, monitor their output, and ban users who abuse the technology, Engler suggested. But even that doesn’t necessarily stop determined people from spreading toxic substances.
While tech companies have historically been reluctant to reveal their secret sauce, The current push by regulators for greater transparency and corporate accountability could usher in a new era in which AI is developed to be less exploitative and done in a way that respects rights such as privacy. This gives me hope for this year.
deep learning
Generative AI is changing everything. But what’s left when the hype wears off?
Each year, MIT Technology Review reporters and editors select 10 breakthrough technologies that could shape the future. Generative AI is the hottest topic in AI right now, and one of the hottest topics of the year. (But you can, and should, Learn about nine other technologies.)
How is this going: Text-to-image AI models such as OpenAI’s DALL-E are all the rage. Its popularity surprised even its own creator. While we will have to wait and see what kind of lasting impact these tools will have on the creative industries and the AI field in general, it is clear that this is just the beginning.
Upcoming things: Next year may introduce us to AI models that can do many different things, from generating images from text in many languages to controlling robots. Generative AI could eventually be used to design everything from new buildings to new medicines. “I think that’s the legacy,” OpenAI founder Sam Altman told Will Douglas Paradise. “Images, video, audio — eventually, everything will be generated. I think it will permeate everywhere.” Read Will’s story.
