Politicians tackling AI regulation - but will it be too late?

Warnings from those behind artificial intelligence (AI) technology have made lawmakers around the world take notice. The tech sector itself is engaged with the government and is considering six cornerstone principles as the basis of a digital strategy, but there appears to be little urgency from ministers - and no sign of any concrete action before October's general election. In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson explores the world of Artificial Intelligence and looks at whether its use should be subject to regulation.'If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong ... we want to work with the government to prevent that,' - Sam AltmanWarnings from those behind artificial intelligence (AI) technology have made lawmakers around the world take notice.The tech sector itself is engaged with the government and is considering six cornerstone principles as the basis of a digital strategy, but there appears to be little urgency from ministers - and no sign of concrete action before October's general election. Listen to the full podcast As AI technology starts seeping into politics in New Zealand, its rapid rise is prompting calls around the world for greater regulation - notably, even from its creators. OpenAI is the company behind text generator ChatGPT, and chief executive Sam Altman's submission to the US Senate in May calling for government intervention caught global attention. "The US government might consider a combination of licencing and testing requirements for development and release of AI models above a threshold of capabilities," he said. "It's one of my areas of greatest concern, the more general ability of these models to manipulate, the persuade, to provide sort of one on one interactions with this information." Australian IT expert Toby Walsh, a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and author of Machines Behaving Badly, says the benefit of AI is it can think faster than we can - but it lacks key human characteristics. "Whether it be hiring people or making decisions in the judiciary - they don't have our empathy, they don't have our social intelligence, they don't have our adaptability, they don't have our common sense, our creativity." US Correspondent Toni Waterman says lawmakers there are drawing comparisons with the atomic bomb as a technology with the potential to upend economies, democracies, value systems and security. "They are calling for regulation, they want to put regulation in place, I think one of the challenges is that this is an emerging technology: the lawmakers aren't experts in a very technical field."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details