There’s a war raging about the future of artificial intelligence – the technology that is already disrupting our economy, our jobs, and our social media feeds – and Melbourne-born Helen Toner is at its centre.At the crux of the bloodletting is a war over AI safety and ethics – as well as a clash of personalities – that will shape the future of the generative AI sector as well as society more broadly.
“It would be a mistake to rely on corporate self-governance structures to handle all the challenges of AI,” Toner said in an interview with this masthead. Instead, Toner says there was board mistrust and that Altman had created a toxic atmosphere; claims that Altman and board chair Bret Taylor have denied.
AI’s rapid ascent into the zeitgeist is reminiscent of bitcoin’s rise five years ago. As with bitcoin, everyone is talking about it, but no one really understands how it works. Unlike bitcoin, however, generative AI’s potential, as well as its impact, is very real. They’re effectively computer programs that have been trained on huge amounts of texts from the internet, as well as millions of books, movies and other sources, learning their patterns and meanings.
A recent RMIT study found 55 per cent of Australia’s workforce are using generative AI tools like ChatGPT at work in some capacity. Primary school teachers are creating chatbot versions of themselves to work with students, and ad agency workers are using ChatGPT to create pitches in minutes, work that would have taken hours.
Researchers and industry members say those efforts have lacked urgency, however. A senate committee on the adoption of the technology in May heard that Australia has no laws to prevent a deepfake Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton spouting misinformation ahead of the next federal election.