The artificial intelligence “arms race” between tech companies requires regulation soon, an AI expert has warned.
Idiro Analytics CEO Aidan Connolly told The Pat Kenny Show that companies such as Google and Microsoft are in competition to develop new AI technology as soon as possible, with Microsoft being a strong supporter of ChatGPT.
Mr Connolly co-signed a letter calling for the development of AI experiments to be paused for 6 months. 1,125 AI experts, including Twitter CEO Elon Musk, has signed the letter.
According to Mr Connolly, “we need to draw a line in the sand” before AI develops further.
“AI is developing so quickly that regulators are struggling to stay up to date with it,” he said.
“The EU has been working on regulation around this along the lines of GDPR for six years, and it has been postponed.”
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The European Parliament was expected to vote on the AI Act by the end of March, but lawmakers have clashed regarding the definition, scope and prohibited practices of AI. The European Parliament is now expected to call for a vote on April 26th.
Mr Connolly said that people don’t fully understand the impact of AI as it develops, and regulators must ensure that it is “fair, unbiased [and] transparent”.
Mr Connolly compared the development of AI to developments in chemical science: “If you look at the likes of chemicals, we regulated chemicals you can use for good. You can’t use it in warfare, editing of the human genome. We have put laws down.”
Call centres among “the first to go”
Mr Connolly also said that traditional call centres will be the first to go as AI develops further.
Call centres of 100 employees will likely be replaced with centres of 3 people who will act as the final point of call as customers communicate with bots.
Mr Connolly said this will lead to happier customers for lower costs: “The common experience of people dealing with service providers is pretty negative across the board. People don’t like waiting 20 minutes to get a call answered.”
“ChatGPT will provide a level of service that's just simply unparalleled.”
Mr Connolly said call centre staff are often “transitory” and that they will likely move on to better jobs as AI replaces them.
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