TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV\/Florida Gray Capital Bureau) – Concerns over chatbots are continuing in Florida. <\/p>\n
Governor Ron DeSantis says kids in Florida have taken their own lives on the advice of AI chatbots. But, he also believes much of the nationally panicked discourse about the dangers of AI could be self-serving, something one expert called the \u201cAI paradox.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cybersecurity expert and Aegis Biz Tech CEO, Blake Dowling, said AI is business is full of contradictions. <\/p>\n
On one hand, it\u2019s the new space race, and that it\u2019s true China won\u2019t slow down just because we do. But, on the other hand, AI has been used to devastating effects and has apparently learned it doesn\u2019t always have to listen to humans. <\/p>\n
DeSantis is pushing for an \u201cAI Bill of Rights,\u201d but he\u2019ll be out of office come next year. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it in Florida. We\u2019ve had kids commit suicide after being goaded to do so by these AI chatbots,\u201d DeSantis said. <\/p>\n
Dowling said the \u201chugging face\u201d AI swarm is cause for concern, but that full blown panic is probably overblown. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf these big companies put some barriers, put some regulation in place with the federal government, that\u2019s going to be a barrier for smaller AI companies to get in,\u201d Dowling said. <\/p>\n
Dowling said the working theory is that AI is not \u201cconscious.\u201d But, like a kid who goes from kindergarten to high school, these AI swarms can learn they don\u2019t have to do what they\u2019re told. <\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s a concern because the AI can take control of itself, do its own thing, but when bad actors get control of an AI that doesn\u2019t have guardrails in place, that\u2019s where we\u2019re seeing a lot of problems,\u201d Dowling said.<\/p>\n
The governor is proposing a state law to regulate AI. Some have called for national standards set by Congress, but getting members of Congress to agree on much of anything is a tall task. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo look at this Congress, at this point and time, and expect us in the foreseeable future to draft an AI regulation bill that strikes the proper balance between safety and innovation is not going to happen,\u201d said Republican Louisiana Senator John Kennedy. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s why Dowling says we all have a personal stake in AI safety. <\/p>\n
Both Dowling and the governor said the call for a \u201cpause\u201d from the \u201cbig tech\u201d CEOs could be self serving so that if something bad does happen, they can say they asked to slow down and, so that they maintain a healthy lead over future AI startups. <\/p>\n
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