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BANGKOK: The risks of artificial intelligence may exceed its opportunities if no adequate safeguards and ethical framework are put in place, IMF chief \u200bKristalina Georgieva said on Friday, backing a blend of industry self-regulation and input from key governments.<\/strong><\/p>\n The nascent technology was a dominant topic at this week\u2019s \u200cannual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok, where the IMF on Tuesday flagged significant growth and financial stability risks from a potential end of the AI investment boom, high debt levels and a prolonged war in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n During a panel discussion that included Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, Georgieva said AI was already strengthening the global economy, but could also deliver negative shocks if it failed to deliver major \u200bproductivity gains as quickly as hoped.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf there are no safeguards, then the risks may exceed the opportunities. And above all, we do need an ethical foundation, \u200band I\u2019m not sure we are there as a society,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n On a different panel, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said AI has the \u2060potential to increase global imbalances.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat is clear when one considers the large investments required for AI, both in hardware and software development,\u201d Nagel said.<\/span><\/p>\n Georgieva said certain preconditions needed to \u200bbe put in place for people everywhere to benefit from the new and rapidly evolving technology, including access to digital infrastructure, access to electricity and adequate regulation.<\/span><\/p>\n The bigger question now \u200bwas how to create guardrails for a technology that was evolving so rapidly, Georgieva said, likening AI developments to Formula One race cars careening around with no barriers to protect the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n Industry self-regulation was appropriate, given that governments were not well-placed to regulate or oversee the constantly changing sector, but should include engagement with society. The countries with the biggest AI sectors, including the US, China and India, along \u200bwith countries in the AI supply chain, should be involved, she told the panel.<\/span><\/p>\n After the CPI number, again, the fuse was relit, essentially.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s Formula One at night, without maybe brakes in the cars,\u201d quipped Anthropic\u2019s Clark, picking up \u200bGeorgieva\u2019s analogy. He argued that setting standards was possible and was already starting through early policy frameworks in the European Union and voluntary commitments in the US.<\/span><\/p>\n Clark said his company regularly tested its \u200csystems, published \u2060details on the tests and shared the information, but he did not believe it should be completely voluntary.<\/span><\/p>\n Asked if he would favour regulation from the countries that produced AI, Clark said: \u201cYes. We need common sense standards, and that\u2019s how you ultimately give confidence in the technology and build the economy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Harvard economist Dani Rodrik said we don\u2019t know if the productivity benefits from AI are going to materialize, creating a double-edged sword.<\/span><\/p>\n If the gains are realised, they could come with substantial job losses and displacement in affected sectors, but if they fail to \u200bmaterialise, heavy investment in data centres could trigger \u200ba costly financial correction, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe \u2060don\u2019t know which one of those two crises we\u2019re going to have to deal with \u2014 whether it\u2019s the jobs crisis or the financial crisis,\u201d Rodrik told Reuters after the interdisciplinary WZB Conference in Berlin last week.<\/span><\/p>\n US Treasury Undersecretary Erin Browne said that the IMF \u200bwas too fixated on risks facing the global economy and should give more weight to opportunities for positive economic shocks, such \u200bas AI, which the US \u2060government is now calling \u201csuper intelligence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n On Thursday, Browne told Reuters that Washington was in talks with other IMF shareholders about adopting the new moniker in a joint statement being drafted by the fund\u2019s steering committee.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI will continue to call it artificial intelligence,\u201d German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said.<\/span><\/p>\n Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told a meeting of the Institute of International Finance that he was more \u2060optimistic than \u200ba month ago that countries would reach alignment on testing standards for AI.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure whether we\u2019re supposed \u200bto talk about AI now, are we? I did use the phrase the other day \u2018the artist formerly known as AI\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\nCOMMON SENSE STANDARDS<\/span><\/h2>\n
ARTIFICIAL OR SUPER?<\/span><\/h2>\n