AI will cause ‘real damage,’ Microsoft executive warns
Christopher Hutton
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A top Microsoft executive warned that the spread of artificial intelligence in the marketplace would have a lasting impact on society and governments worldwide.
Microsoft Chief Economist Michael Schwarz warned the audience at a World Economic Forum panel about the growing dangers surrounding AI. Schwarz warned specifically of it being used by bad actors to spread misinformation in elections.
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“I am confident AI will be used by bad actors, and yes, it will cause real damage,” Schwarz said during the panel in Geneva on Wednesday. “It can do a lot of damage in the hands of spammers with elections and so on.”
Microsoft has invested over $10 billion in OpenAI, the leading AI business, and integrated its GPT-4 technology in its Bing browser.
The technology “clearly” should be regulated, Schwarz added, but lawmakers must be cautious and not do so until it does “real harm.”
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“Once we see real harm, we have to ask ourselves the simple question: ‘Can we regulate that in a way where the good things that will be prevented by this regulation are less important?'” he said. “The principles should be the benefits from the regulation to our society should be greater than the cost to our society.”
Microsoft announced in February that it incorporated OpenAI products into the Bing search engine and the Edge web browser. The results have surprised users, with several reporting emotional and even hostile responses from the bot.