While some big names in the tech world are concerned about the potential threat of artificial intelligence (AI), Matt Wood, VP of product at AWS, isn’t one of them.
Wood has been a champion of machine learning (ML) at AWS for years and is a regular presence at the company’s events. Over the past 13 years, he has been a leading voice at AWS on AI/ML, discussing the technology and Amazon’s research and service advancements at nearly every AWS re:Invent.
AWS has been working on AI long before the current wave of generative AI hype, with its Sagemaker product suite leading the charge for the past six years. However, AWS has also embraced the generative AI era. On April 13, AWS announced Amazon Bedrock, a set of generative AI tools that help organizations build, train, fine-tune, and deploy large language models (LLMs).
There’s no denying the immense power of generative AI. It has the potential to disrupt both enterprise and society. Some experts even warn that AI poses an “existential threat” to humanity. But in an interview with NeuralNation, Wood easily dismissed those fears, succinctly explaining how AI actually works and what AWS is doing with it.
In response to claims that Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses an existential risk to humanity, Amazon Web Services’ Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy yesterday minimized these claims as a “mathematical parlor trick” and stated that he is more concerned about unethical AI.
Speaking at the World AI Summit 2020 in Amsterdam, Jassy stated that he does not believe that “there’s an existential risk from Artificial Intelligence”, as the individuals who make these claims often “overstate the extent of the capabilities of AI right now”. He believes that AI currently falls short of the level of intelligence “required to even start to think about an existential risk from AI”.
Instead, Jassy emphasized the importance of emphasizing safety when using AI. As the technology begins to be used more and more in decision-making processes, particularly those with an effect on individuals or society at large, there is an even greater need to ensure it is used responsibly.
Jassy cited specifically the need to prioritize ethical and responsible decision-making. He commented on the damage that could be potentially done by AI which is used irresponsibly or used to manipulate or influence people’s behavior. He also discussed the importance of having clear regulations and oversight to ensure AI is used in an ethical and responsible manner.
Ultimately, Jassy concluded that AI can be a boon to humanity when used for positive societal change. He saw potential for AI to create remarkable improvements in healthcare, education and a range of other industries. He reiterated the need to approach the development and use of AI with great responsibility and care.
In summary, Amazon Web Services Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy minimized claims of AI posing an existential risk to humanity as a “mathematical parlor trick”. Instead, he places greater importance on ethical decision-making when using AI and its potential to benefit humanity when used for positive change.
