2023-11-24 05:21:37
▲ As CEO Sam Altman returns to Open AI and a new board of directors is formed, it is pointed out that discussions regarding artificial intelligence ethics issues may be pushed to the background. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. <연합뉴스>
[비즈니스포스트] There are concerns raised about the fact that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman returned to work in a short period of time after being dismissed by the board of directors.
As OpenAI’s new board of directors is composed of technical experts who are relatively insensitive to ethical issues in artificial intelligence technology, the possibility of potentially large risks has increased.
The British Financial Times published a commentary on the 24th and pointed out that Sam Altman’s return as CEO of OpenAI could end up being a big mistake bordering on a ‘tragedy.’
The process of Sam Altman’s return 5 days after being fired as CEO of OpenAI unfolded like a drama.
Compiling various foreign media reports, including Archyde.com, it appears that the reason why the Open AI board decided to fire Sam Altman was due to conflict over the ethical aspects of Open AI artificial intelligence technology.
Some of the Open AI researchers emphasized the risk of ‘a level of threat to humanity’ regarding the potential of new artificial intelligence technologies currently under development, and conveyed these opinions to the board of directors, which gave weight to the decision to dismiss them.
According to the New York Times, there was also insider testimony that Altman was unable to resolve his differences with one of the board members, Helen Toner, which led to friction.
Helen Toner, who works as a research executive at the Center for Security and New Technology at Georgetown University in the United States, recently published a paper criticizing Open AI’s compliance with artificial intelligence ethics.
Altman is said to have argued with Toner out of concern that this paper might affect the U.S. Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) investigation into artificial intelligence data collection.
Helen Toner was eventually named as one of the board members who supported Altman’s dismissal, and was unable to keep her position during the Open AI board’s reorganization.
In addition, Tasha McCauley, a robotics scientist and wife of famous actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ilya Sutskever, an artificial intelligence research expert, also left the OpenAI board of directors after participating in Altman’s dismissal.
The positions they left at OpenAI were filled by former Twitter board chairman Brett Taylor, Larry Summers, who served as Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration, and Adam D’Angelo, CEO of platform company Quora.
Microsoft, a key investor, also gave its support to CEO Sam Altman’s system, saying that he hopes this incident will increase the transparency and stability of OpenAI’s board of directors.
The Financial Times reported that there are concerns that Altman’s return as CEO of OpenAI and reorganization of the board of directors could potentially lead to disastrous risks.
If the new board of directors is composed only of technical experts, excluding people like Helen Toner who can voice diverse voices, the issue of artificial intelligence ethics may not be taken seriously.
▲ Image related to OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot service ‘ChatGPT’. <연합뉴스>
The Financial Times reported that previous board members considered ethical responsibility very important and considered the impact on humanity more important than the company’s growth.
The fact that Microsoft is expected to seek to increase its influence on Open AI management also adds strength to concerns about ethical issues.
Currently, Microsoft is promoting collaboration by investing more than $13 billion (approximately 17 trillion won) in Open AI. Naturally, priority should be given to recovering investment through commercialization of artificial intelligence technology.
Ultimately, after Sam Altman’s return as CEO, the development of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology will gain more momentum and the launch of related services will increase, but there are concerns that ethical discussions may be pushed to the background in this process.
According to a Time report, Altman is understood to have actively lobbied when discussing artificial intelligence-related regulations in the European Union (EU) and achieved the result of slightly lowering the level of regulations.
The Financial Times expressed a critical view of OpenAI’s new board of directors, saying, “Throughout American history, it has not been difficult to see how dangerous companies with boards of directors that agree with the CEO’s opinions are.”
Advanced artificial intelligence technologies such as OpenAI’s ‘ChatGPT’ are being criticized for various ethical aspects, such as unauthorized theft of information, reduced need for companies to hire human resources, and political bias.
If we are not careful, there is growing speculation that companies such as OpenAI may have a negative impact on global society and humanity in general by pursuing commercialization of artificial intelligence technology as their top priority.
Open AI was originally established as a non-profit foundation, but has a for-profit corporation as a subsidiary. Altman’s return as CEO and reorganization of the board of directors could soon serve as a decisive opportunity for Open AI to completely transform into a commercial company.
Fortune, an economic magazine, said, “The Open AI incident showed that ultimately the side holding the money will inevitably win,” and added, “It will not be easy for non-profit purposes to be prioritized in the future.” Reporter Kim Yong-won
1700806828
#Sam #Altmans #return #Open #raises #concerns #discussions #artificial #intelligence #ethics #backseat