US President Donald Trump’s rejection of “any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control” AI is the latest manifestation of his inability to see beyond American interests.
The unfettered technology is causing increasing concern around the world.
But Trump chose to defend AI from outside interference during his speech to the UN General Assembly. Before the organisation largely set up by the US to stop war, Trump’s address desecrated the ideal, promising to “annihilate the Islamic republic” of Iran, and declared “to the victor belong the spoils” in relation to Venezuelan oil.
And as part of his push for US hegemony, Trump even floated rebranding the technology, declaring the term AI was dead: “From this point forward, all of United States’ documents and hopefully the world’s will be changed to use the much more accurate term ‘super’ as opposed to ‘artificial’ … so it’s Super Intelligence.”
Trump’s bare-faced pugnaciousness on untrammelled AI freedom comes as calls mount to rein in the technology as AI dominates sharemarkets, and with the US and China locked in a race to dominate the field. Technology industries and researchers warn of potential risks. Some of the industry’s most high-profile figures, including Google, OpenAI and SpaceX executives, have pressed for a more cautious approach.
Earlier this week Trump even stooped to bullying Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before he addressed the United Nations on Australia’s leadership in technology regulation, with the US embassy in Canberra issuing a statement asking Australia to stop trying to regulate social media.
The proposed digital duty-of-care reforms aim to give Australians the right to use social media feeds free of algorithms, and to force platforms to stop harm before it occurs. Trump aside, the reforms are running a gauntlet of spurious claims that they will restrict freedom of speech.
The US wanted Albanese to withdraw plans to mandate that platforms algorithmically suppress content based on ambiguous government-defined safety criteria because it raised significant concerns about fair competition, market access and trade treatment for US companies, independent media and content creators.
Trump’s opposition to censoring social media is national interest disguising personal interests – his presidency and the MAGA movement depend on unregulated social media.
Like nuclear technology, AI is proving a boon and a threat. It is used in education, healthcare, finance, robotics, cybersecurity and driving cars. But the technology also threatens job losses, increased criminal activity, intellectual property infringement, data privacy concerns and mental and psychological harm, as well as other risks.
The Herald supports the Albanese government’s legislation addressing the more unsavoury aspects of the technology. It will require deft footwork to see off Trump’s self-centred aims. However, allowing market forces to hold sway has potential to wreak more damage than benefit.
Under Trump the US has lost trust around the world. There is little reason to believe that the American tech companies are any more trustworthy.
Governments regulate industries making products that carry large benefits and risks. AI companies failed to police themselves and need to be controlled.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
