VOA科学技术2024--Business, Political Leaders Agree to Safely Develop, Deploy AI

Major AI developers and top government officials have agreed on measures that aim to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) systems are safely built and deployed¹.

The announcement came at the end of a two-day meeting in Seoul, South Korea. The gathering² continues discussions from a similar event held last November in Britain. The goal of both meetings was to bring AI developers together with government representatives to establish goals and guidelines related to safe AI development.

Many governments and international organizations across the world are seeking to create rules for AI technology development. Officials and activists³ have raised concerns that AI systems could present risks. The concerns include AI possibly attacking online systems controlling infrastructure⁴. Another concern is that AI systems might help spread misinformation or create "deepfakes" to mislead voters in elections.

Legislative⁵ attempts to create rules for AI development, especially in the United States, have not been successful. Last October, President Joe Biden issued an executive order calling on companies working on AI projects to develop guidelines for protecting users of the technology.

At the latest meeting, officials from 16 different technology companies signed a voluntary agreement on Tuesday. In it, they promised to develop AI technology in ways that limit possible harm to the public. Among the companies were American-based Google, IBM, Amazon, Microsoft and OpenAI. Others included China's Alibaba and Tencent, as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics and G42 from the United Arab Emirates.

The British government co-led the summit with South Korea. It said in a statement that the leaders in attendance sought to establish "a common understanding of AI safety and align⁶ their AI research."

One of the main parts of the latest agreement calls for creating a network of publicly supported safety institutes designed to guide research and testing of AI technologies. Some of these institutes have already been set up by Britain, the U.S. and Singapore.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the meeting through a video link that AI technology has continued to quickly develop since the group's last meeting in Britain. Such development had led to "life-changing technological⁷ advances." But Guterres added that the progress had also created "life-threatening new risks."

"We cannot sleepwalk into a dystopian future," he added. "Where the power of AI is controlled by a few people - or worse, by algorithms beyond human understanding," he said.

Earlier this year, the U.N. General Assembly approved its first resolution on AI. The measure received support from all 193 U.N. member states. It called for international efforts to ensure that new technologies help all nations, respect human rights, and stay "safe, secure and trustworthy."

Attendees agreed on the need for AI companies to exchange ideas on their progress and development methods. The group also agreed to provide information on safety.

South Korea's science and information minister, Lee Jong-Ho, spoke⁸ to the gathering before it ended on Wednesday. He said worldwide AI development had reached a point where "cooperation is not an option; it is a necessity."

AI experts welcomed the steps to start creating rules, or regulations, to keep the technology safe. But some noted⁹ that such rules need to be enforced to be effective.

Francine Bennett is director of the AI-centered Ada Lovelace Institute in Britain. She told Reuters news agency, "We need to move past voluntary...the people affected¹⁰ should be setting the rules via governments."

AI companies should be able to prove their products meet established regulations before they even reach the market, said Max Tegmark. He is president of the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit bringing attention to the risks of AI. Tegmark said companies should equate¹¹ safety with profit and attempt to limit possible harms during the development of systems.

South Korean minister Lee said a big problem is that any laws aimed at making AI systems safer are far behind continuous development and public releases. He told Reuters, "But for safe use by the public, there needs to be flexible laws and regulations in place."

Words in This Story

align - v. to support the opinions of a political group, country, etc.

institute - n. an organization where people do a particular kind of scientific, educational or social work

advancement¹² - n. progress

dystopian - adj. relating to a very bad or unfair society in which there is a lot of suffering

algorithm - n. a set of steps that are followed to complete a computing¹³ process or problem

option - n. a thing that is chosen from a set of possibilities

via -prep. through

flexible - adj. able to change or be changed easily according to a particular situation

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

7 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

12 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

13 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。