AI’s most dangerous trait ‘already in use’ as Microsoft boss reveals major concern

Microsoft president Brad Smith has revealed his biggest fear about artificial intelligence and warned that its most dangerous trait is “already in use”.
Mr Smith warned that AI has to be regulated during a bombshell speech in Washington on Thursday.
The rise of AI technology in recent years has been dramatic. It’s now being used everywhere from hospitals to warzones, where deepfakes are often used in psychological operations. 
Speaking at the conference in Washington, Mr Smith said tech giants and lawmakers “are going to have to address the issues around deep fakes”.
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The Microsoft president continued: “We’re going to have to address in particular what we worry about most foreign cyber influence operations, the kinds of activities that are already taking place by the Russian government, the Chinese, the Iranians.”
He added: “We need to take steps to protect against the alteration of legitimate content with an intent to deceive or defraud people through the use of AI.”
Deepfakes began with the Video Rewrite programme, which was started in 1997 by Christoph Bregler, Michele Covell, and Malcolm Slaney.
It allowed users to alter existing video footage to generate fresh content, such as changing the words someone is mouthing in the original version.
The videos use a blend of AI and computer imagery and have been used more and more in recent years, particularly during Russia’s cyber war with Ukraine.
A deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his soldiers to stand down was circulated widely on social media.
Mr Smith called for licensing of critical AI tech to keep a better check on security. He said that new measures would be needed to “ensure that these models are not stolen or not used in ways that would violate the country’s export control requirements”.
His speech came during a discussion between Washington lawmakers and AI experts about how best to proceed with the technology.
Sam Altman, the ChatGPT chief, also discussed the topic, laying bare his own fears for the future of technology.
He said: “My worst fears are we, the technology, cause significant harm to the world. I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.”
The biggest concern facing technology, the boss added, was the misinformation during election periods.
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