Ensuring the Future is Bright
"Ubiquitous artificial intelligence is seemingly upon us—maybe, it's already here. Yet we do not know how to effectively control, align or guarantee trustworthiness in these systems. In addition to sensible regulations, we will need to scale technological countermeasures to create the beautiful future that this technology can enable."
In the coming decade(s), the future envisioned above may become more than mere imagination—manifesting in reality. However, whether our societies enter into this new world depends on if we collectively innovate and scale the necessary precautions.
And we have seen this before. Recall how society responded to the revolutionary potential of our earlier examples, cars and mobile phones. In embracing these technologies, a collective understanding emerged: the necessity for safeguards against risks, so we can maximise the benefits. In the automotive sector, the introduction of seat belts to airbags, anti-lock braking systems, drivers' licences, speed limits, and emissions standards reflected our deepening commitment to public safety and environmental stewardship. Similarly, in the mobile phone industry, stringent data privacy laws enforce consent rules and limit data storage, while mandatory cybersecurity updates and encryption standards protect against digital vulnerabilities 1. These measures, born from a blend of consumer demand, commercial incentives, and regulatory foresight, underscore a sophisticated balance between the promises of progress and the imperatives of safety, security, and compliance.
Footnotes
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European Data Protection Supervisor. Mobile devices, April 2, 2024. https://www.edps.europa.eu/data-protection/data-protection/reference-library/mobile-devices_en; Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. Product security and telecommunications infrastructure (PSTI) bill: Factsheets, November 24, 2021. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-product-security-and-telecommunications-infrastructure-psti-bill-factsheets.; and Franklin, Joshua, et al. “Mobile Device Security Cloud and Hybrid Builds.” NIST SPECIAL PUBLICATION 1800-4B, 2019. https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1800-4.pdf. ↩