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Will AI research pause benefit China? Ex-Google CEO says country ‘very smart...’
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that concerns over the speed of AI development should be monitored by tech companies.
After over 1,000 experts signed a letter calling for a six-month halt on research into artificial intelligence (AI), former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that the move will benefit Chinese competitors in the market.
In an interview with Australian business paper the Australian Financial Review, (article under paywall) Schmidt said that concerns over speed of AI development should be monitored by tech companies, which can set benchmarks.
"I'm not in favour of a six-month pause because it will simply benefit China. China is very smart, they know what they are doing. We need to get our act together," Schmidt said.
The letter, signed by tech entrepreneurs like Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, stated that propaganda, fear of AI replacing humans and loss of jobs were the factors behind the demand for the pause.
Also read: OpenAI CEO eyes Japan expansion, meets PM Fumio Kishida
Stating his worry over the quick advancement of AI, he warned that the ‘emergent behaviour’ as large language models get bigger will be difficult to comprehend. Schmidt opined that companies should refrain from producing advanced systems without lessening some of the harmful effects of their creations.
The ex-CEO of the search engine giant had earlier cautioned against the destroying capabilities of new AI systems that could produce bioweapons and influence politics.
He added that in the absence of stricter regulation by the industry, politicians would have to step in.
Since the launch of Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, generative AI has caught on like wildfire with Google also introducing a rival - Bard chatbot.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Google is planning to add AI features to its search engine as it battles intense competition from ChatGPT. Google chief executive officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai said that the new AI features will enhance the search engine's ability to answer queries and rejected the notion that chatbots are a threat to Google's search business.
