Food in general is regulated for very good reasons. Food borne diseases account for maybe a million death every year in the world, mostly from countries that don't have such regulations. And without going as far as death, even mild food poisoning can be quite disruptive. Milk in particular is critical because we give it to children who are the most vulnerable.
If anything needs to be regulated more than anything else, it is milk!
The article also mentions washing machines, which I think is a more level comparison. But washing machines can electrocute you, cause a fire or a flood. That kind of risk doesn't exist with AI, unless washing machine manufacturers took a page from Microsoft and sloppified their design I guess.
You can't think of any possible ways that AI, under unanticipated but not unprecedented circumstances (similar to those in which an appliance might malfunction), might cause significant harm?
AI may cause harm in the same way a screwdriver can cause harm, if someone stabs himself in the eye with it.
The AI _corporations_ must be regulated, not the technology itself. But that's not what they're advocating for. Big techs are trying to get a ban on general purpose computing so everyone has to pay them a tax to do anything related to computers. Imagine needing a license (edit: i.e. a special govt permission) to run a local model at home.
It’s more like a chainsaw I think, in that if you hold it the wrong way it can cause serious irreparable harm… except with AI there’s a whole load of different, conflicting advice on how to hold it.
It seems more a regulate the nuclear missile watching agency problem than a regulate generic LLM tools problem. If my LLM tells me wrongly there’s missiles somewhere the impact is null
To be honest, not any more than any search engine or other computer program can do harm.
When these AI companies claim that AI should be regulated, they usually mean it like a gun, because the owner of a gun can do harm to others. Let's put that aside for now, there is already plenty of debate on this idea.
Here, they mention milk and washing machines, and regulations are intended to protect the consumer from the manufacturer. And what how can an AI company harm their users? They can make their software full of bugs and vulnerabilities, leak private information, etc... nothing AI specific. The more AI-specific part is that they can provide a chatbot that tells you to kill yourself, well, yes, that's a risk, but the same can be said of the web in general. If Microsoft really wanted to have AI regulated in this sense, Windows 11 probably would have to be recalled the same day.
I still think washing machine and milk are more relevant scenarios for the daily lives of normal folks, particularly for physical harm.
Most people aren't using agents currently and even for those that are, the direct harm is limited to the digital realm. Of course, this could be major, but still, it won't kill you.
Indirect harm, I'll grant. But the user has agency in this instance. If you drink bad milk or your washing machine has faulty wiring, not so much.
I think the whole point is to come with regulation before AI can harm anyone.
If they are planning maidbots or android bots replenishing shelves in shops, or system that have to manage some focal points like electricity or your semaphore system, maybe it is better to have a law before they start to ship this appliances.
They are loading AI pretty much everywhere, even on cars.
I can see how some companies will cut testing in the sake of money saving.
I agree milk need more regulation than AI, but this shouldn't be an excuse to not regulate AI adequately.
Both of the topics have their own importance and both of them need good focus to regulate them at the best of our capabilities.
If anything needs to be regulated more than anything else, it is milk!
The article also mentions washing machines, which I think is a more level comparison. But washing machines can electrocute you, cause a fire or a flood. That kind of risk doesn't exist with AI, unless washing machine manufacturers took a page from Microsoft and sloppified their design I guess.