{"id":16430,"date":"2023-11-30T17:06:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T11:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vue.ai\/blog\/?p=16430"},"modified":"2024-01-10T13:49:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T08:19:36","slug":"the-true-nature-of-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vue.ai\/blog\/ai-transformation\/the-true-nature-of-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Horns or halos? The true nature of AI."},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

In Disney\u2019s Fantasia<\/em>, a sorcerer returns to his workshop to find that his apprentice has unleashed forces that have quickly spiraled out of control, threatening to destroy everything in sight; the magician takes charge to restore order. Who on earth today will fill the sorcerer\u2019s role and catch the AI lightning in a bottle? Can AI indeed be regulated? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulating AI is like nailing a cheesecake to the wall. Perched on the threshold of a technological revolution \u2013 a Cambrian explosion, some liken it to \u2013 it is essential to dispel misconceptions, establish clear boundaries, and understand the potential of this powerful tool. Just as the Internet evolved from a medium of mistrust to a productivity enhancer across industries, AI is poised to undergo a similar transformation. However, like any potent tool, AI\u2019s impact will be defined by how we choose to wield it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey of the Internet offers a valuable lesson. Initially, it was conceived as a free medium for information exchange, prioritizing democratization over commercialization. However, the culture of ‘free’ demanded a business model – advertising. This led to the rise of targeted advertising, incentivizing platforms to grow their user base and keeping us glued to the internet. Inadvertently, this also fueled the spread of misinformation, hyperpartisanship, and new forms of bullying and bad behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, AI stands where the Internet once did, misunderstood and mistrusted. As the fog in the air clears, the roadblocks stand exposed.

Bias in AI<\/strong>
Over 20,000 cases falsely flagged for unemployment benefit fraud by Michigan\u2019s MIDAS algorithm. False arrest records (\u2018hallucinations\u2019<\/em>, they call it!) by automated tenant screening tools pushing low-income populations into no-housing situations. Potential revocation of college admissions, wrongful arrests due to incorrect facial recognition tools, harsh sentences from judges due to skewed predictions on whether a given criminal will reoffend\u2026 the list abounds of the ills of bias in AI. Teething troubles aren\u2019t new to deployments of new technologies. But the good news is the first adopters have the opportunity and responsibility to set the norms for its use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulators across continents and countries are already actively building guardrails to make AI safer and productive for everybody. The AI Act, spanning 100 pages, has received recent approval from the European Parliament. This statute aims to proactively prohibit applications judged to possess “unacceptable” risk levels. It mandates pre-approval and licenses for certain applications within the EU and imposes significant fines on developers for various infractions. Chinese regulators are taking swift steps towards establishing clear guidelines on the permissible and impermissible operations of AI technologies. In the United States, multiple actors are jostling to lead the regulation of AI. Aside from the AI Bill of Rights from the Biden Administration itself, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in the Congress, the  National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce, the feisty Lina Kahn at the Federal Trade Commission and provincial efforts in some 17 states are all moving in parallel to build the guardrails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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