The Guardian view on AI: safety staff departures raise worries about industry pursuing profit at all costs | Editorial
TL;DR
Cash-hungry Silicon Valley firms are scrambling for revenue. Regulate them now before the tech becomes too big to fail Hardly a month passes without an AI grandee cautioning that the technology poses an existential threat to humanity. Many of these warnings might be hazy or naive. Others may be self-interested. Calm, level-headed scrutiny is needed. Some warnings, though, are worth taking seriously. Last week, some notable ground-level AI safety researchers quit, warning that firms chasing profits are sidelining safety and pushing risky products. In the near term, this suggests a rapid “enshittification” in pursuit of short-term revenue. Without regulation, public purpose gives way to profit. Surely AI’s expanding role in government and daily life – as well as billionaire owners’ desire for profits – demand accountability. Continue reading...
Nauti's Take
Classic Silicon Valley playbook: Shout "existential threat" while quietly firing safety teams because revenue targets matter more. These departures are a red flag – when your own experts quit in protest, priorities are crystal clear.
Regulation needs to happen now, not after the first major incidents.
Summary
Cash-hungry Silicon Valley firms are scrambling for revenue. Regulate them now before the tech becomes too big to fail Hardly a month passes without an AI grandee cautioning that the technology poses an existential threat to humanity.
Many of these warnings might be hazy or naive. Others may be self-interested.
Calm, level-headed scrutiny is needed. Some warnings, though, are worth taking seriously.
Last week, some notable ground-level AI safety researchers quit, warning that firms chasing profits are sidelining safety and pushing risky products. In the near term, this suggests a rapid “enshittification” in pursuit of short-term revenue.
Without regulation, public purpose gives way to profit. Surely AI’s expanding role in government and daily life – as well as billionaire owners’ desire for profits – demand accountability.
Continue reading...
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