Discussions in the United States regarding artificial intelligence security continue to heat up. Recently, Obama stated that Democrats should list AI as one of the core issues and propose clear plans regarding the economic impacts and security risks brought about by this technology.
Call for the establishment of an open discussion framework
According to The New York Times, Obama made the above statement at a Democratic fundraising event last Thursday. At that time, Hakim Jeffries, the leader of the minority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, asked him how Democratic members of Congress should handle the issue of AI.
Obama responded that once Democrats regain the majority in the House of Representatives, they should push for the establishment of a discussion framework open to the public. He stated that AI is advancing rapidly in the private sector, and if policy makers do not keep up in a timely manner, the risks may increase; however, if handled properly, it could also bring significant benefits, including accelerating drug development.
Obama has contacted leading AI companies
Jeffries subsequently stated in a declaration that Obama's judgment that decisive action was needed regarding AI was correct, and criticized the Republicans for not taking on their corresponding governance responsibilities. Relevant statements indicate that the Democrats are attempting to further incorporate the security and industry governance of AI into their policy agenda.
The New York Times also reported that Obama has recently been willing to provide opportunities for exchange of opinions with senior executives in the AI industry and has communicated with the CEO of Anthropic, as well as the CEOs of OpenAI and Sam Altman. This background also makes his statements more noteworthy.
Intense discussions on independent evaluation and standards
Recently, the security controversies surrounding AI have intensified once again. Previously, a researcher from AI resigned from Anthropic and accused the leading AI company of accelerating its development towards super-intelligence that can improve itself autonomously. These claims have sparked further discussions about the security issues of cutting-edge models among the public.
Last Saturday, Amodei proposed a relatively broad set of cutting-edge AI management ideas, which mainly include granting independent security assessment parties access to leading models and companies, as well as promoting the establishment of common security standards among enterprises.
The CEOs of Altman and SpaceX, Elon Musk, both responded positively to this direction on social media afterwards. Altman stated that OpenAI would also commit to providing independent evaluators with access rights close to those of employees. Meanwhile, Trump also discussed AI security issues on Sunday, saying that the United States hopes to remain ahead in AI competition and indicated that necessary protective measures can be put in place.
