While the exact way these models will be regulated in the AI Act is still hotly debated, creators of general-purpose AI models such as OpenAI, Google and DeepMind will need to be more open about what are their models like. built and trained, says Dragoș Tudorache, a liberal member of the European Parliament who is part of the team negotiating the AI Law.
Regulating these technologies is complicated, because there are two different sets of problems associated with generative models, and these have very different policy solutions, says Alex Engler, an AI governance researcher at the Brookings Institution. One is the spread of harmful AI-generated content such as hate speech and non-consensual pornography, and the other is the prospect of biased results when companies integrate these AI models into hiring processes or use to review legal documents.
Sharing more information about models can help third parties who build products on top of them. But when it comes to the spread of harmful AI-generated content, stricter rules are needed. Engler suggests that creators of generative models should be required to limit what the models will produce, monitor their results, and prohibit users from abusing the technology. But even that won’t necessarily stop a determined person from spreading toxic stuff.
While tech companies have traditionally been reluctant to reveal their secret sauce, Regulators’ current push for more transparency and corporate accountability could usher in a new era where AI development is less exploitative and done in a way that respects rights like privacy. This gives me hope for this year.
Deeper learning
Generative AI is changing everything. But what’s left when the hype has worn off?
Each year, the reporters and editors of the MIT Technology Review select 10 innovative technologies that are likely to shape the future. Generative AI, the hottest thing in AI right now, is one of this year’s picks. (But you can and should read about the other nine technologies.)
What is happening: Text-to-image AI models like OpenAI’s DALL-E took the world by storm. Its popularity surprised even its own creators. And while we’ll have to wait to see exactly what lasting impact these tools will have on the creative industries and the entire field of AI, it’s clear that this is just the beginning.
Next: Next year is likely to introduce AI models that can do many different things, from generating images from text in multiple languages to controlling robots. Generative AI could eventually be used to produce designs for everything from new buildings to new medicines. “I think that’s the legacy,” Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, told Will Douglas Heaven. “Images, video, audio; eventually, everything will be generated. I think it’s going to trickle down everywhere.” Read Will’s story.
