AI Risks Repeating Social Media Era’s Mistakes, Says Microsoft President

 Brad Smith, President and Vice Chairman of Microsoft, addresses the gathering on the first day of the three-day B20 Summit in New Delhi on August 25, 2023. (AFP)
Brad Smith, President and Vice Chairman of Microsoft, addresses the gathering on the first day of the three-day B20 Summit in New Delhi on August 25, 2023. (AFP)
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AI Risks Repeating Social Media Era’s Mistakes, Says Microsoft President

 Brad Smith, President and Vice Chairman of Microsoft, addresses the gathering on the first day of the three-day B20 Summit in New Delhi on August 25, 2023. (AFP)
Brad Smith, President and Vice Chairman of Microsoft, addresses the gathering on the first day of the three-day B20 Summit in New Delhi on August 25, 2023. (AFP)

Breakneck development of artificial intelligence risked repeating mistakes made by the tech industry at the start of the social media era, Microsoft president Brad Smith told a business forum on Friday.

Rapid advancements in AI have stoked global alarm over the technology's potential for disinformation, misuse and upheaval of the labor market.

But Smith suggested these misgivings were not reflected by the developers of the potentially revolutionary technology, whose optimism reminded him of the early years of social media platforms.

Back then, the tech industry "became a little too euphoric about all the good things that social media would bring to the world -- and there have been many -- without thinking about the risks as well," he said.

"We need to be clear-eyed, we need to be excited about the opportunities, but thoughtful, perhaps even concerned, about the downside. And we need to construct the guardrails from the outset," he added.

The rise of AI has raised both excitement and concerns about its potential to improve or replace tasks done by humans.

AI tools have shown in recent months the ability to generate essays, create realistic images, mimic voices of famous singers and even pass medical exams, among a slew of uses.

But there are also worries that chatbots could flood the internet with disinformation, that biased algorithms will churn out racist material or that AI-powered automation could lay waste to entire industries.

A United Nations report this week said AI was more likely to augment jobs than to destroy them, adding nonetheless that the tech would alter work intensity and the autonomy of workers.

It also said the effects of technology would vary greatly between professions and regions, with clerical workers facing the most exposure to changes and women more likely than men to see their jobs affected.

Smith said it was clear the public "want to be confident that this new technology will remain under human control".

Mastercard chief executive Michael Miebach said companies needed to build trust over use of the tech and take action to address issues such as AI bias.

But he also said he believed that the risks around AI were "not terribly new" and should not impede further development of the technology.

"Naturally regulation will be behind," he said. "But that shouldn't slow us down."

Both men were speaking in New Delhi alongside other world industry leaders at a meeting that is serving as a prelude to next month's G20 summit in the Indian capital.



Amazon Responsible for Hazardous Products Sold by Third-party Sellers on Platform

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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Amazon Responsible for Hazardous Products Sold by Third-party Sellers on Platform

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Amazon.com is responsible under federal safety law for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform and bears legal responsibility for their recall, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Tuesday.

The agency said it has issued an order for Amazon to propose remediation plans to notify consumers about the hazardous products and to remove them from consumers' homes by encouraging returns or destruction, Reuters reported.

More than 400,000 products are subject to this order, the CPSC said, noting in particular faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children's sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards.

Amazon was a "distributor" of such defective products as they are listed on their website and sold by third-party sellers under the "Fulfilled by Amazon" program, the agency said.