Narayanan and Kapoor call for usage transparency around gen AI and better funding for enforcement agencies to ensure existing laws are enforced and loopholes avoided. They also caution against being impressed by numbers and claims around AI, stating that these often mean little in real-world conditions. Despite the challenges, Narayanan remains optimistic, believing that tech criticism can lead to improvements.
Key takeaways:
- Princeton University’s Arvind Narayanan and his Ph.D. student Sayash Kapoor have been exploring the concept of "AI Snake Oil" and are about to hand in a book draft that goes beyond their original thesis to tackle today’s generative AI hype.
- Narayanan and Kapoor argue that while generative AI is a powerful technology, the hype around it has spiraled out of control, and there are many risks and unethical development practices associated with it.
- They advocate for usage transparency around gen AI, and believe that more technologists need to be involved in government to help enforce existing laws and avoid loopholes.
- They also caution against being overly impressed by numbers and claims around AI, as the real test is how well the AI performs in real-world conditions.