Geneva — GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. telecommunications agency has launched its annual “AI for Good” conference, aiming to guide businesses, consumers and governments on how to harness the new technology’s promise while avoiding its potential dangers.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, is among the tech leaders taking part in Thursday's Geneva gathering, a two-day event featuring speeches and talks on the applications of artificial intelligence to robotics, healthcare, education, sustainable development and more.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming our world and our lives,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video, noting the technology's promise for improving education and healthcare in remote areas, improving crop yields and early warning systems for natural disasters.
Artificial intelligence has been in development for many years, but consumer applications first came to light 18 months ago when OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a standout AI system that churns out novel text, images and videos based on a vast database of online articles, books and other media.
Other big companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are also competing fiercely in the AI field.
OpenAI has been battling growing concerns over its AI safety practices, including criticism from former executives who recently left the company.
Experts warn that AI could accelerate the spread of disinformation online: With just a few commands and requests, computer-generated text and images can spread across social media and the internet, blurring the line between fake news and reality.
“To realise that potential, we need AI that reduces bias, misinformation and security threats, rather than exacerbating them,” Guterres said, arguing that developing countries also needed to “use AI themselves” and help “connect the unconnected” around the world.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
