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Protecting People, not profits

 


Protecting data. That's been the principle focus of tech regulation for decades. Protecting people hasn't. This should teach us a valuable lesson. Matt Clifford, an advisor to the UK Prime Minister, today stated in an interview: "We have got two years to get in place a framework that makes both controlling and regulating very large models much more possible than it is today." Earlier in the interview Clifford set out why this timescale is important, "if we don't start to think about safety then in about two years time we will be finding that we have systems that are very powerful indeed." But many have been thinking about safety in these systems, for a very long time. There are existing laws in the UK and most countries that could be enacted now, which are rarely enforced, around privacy of data as an example. 

Clifford though is misunderstanding the risks and the sector. The uncensored LLMs, that pose a national security risk, are in the Open Source arena, and can give one the formula for neurotoxins amongst many other dangerous chemical compounds. But so can books!  The challenge has been more about resources, about regulators having the people power, money and authority to intervene. The other challenge, a more significant one, is the concern of regulators to protect monopolistic concerns, to protect data, more than people, to enforce corporate rights rather than human rights.

Until this balance is reversed then there will be no effective protection that deals with AI. The other significant area of regulation has been around corporations, of course. But these fail constantly, largely as laws are there ultimately to aid larger corporations. Big Tech companies are constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the competition. One of their most effective strategies is to invest in startups. Apple, for example, brought 50 different AI companies between 20/22.

Startups are often under the radar and largely unregulated. This gives Big Tech a chance to get in on the ground floor of new technologies and markets. Once a startup has developed a successful product or service, Big Tech can then acquire it or integrate it into their own business.

This strategy has allowed Big Tech to grow their market power and influence at an unprecedented rate. In recent years, Big Tech companies have come under increasing scrutiny for their monopolistic practices. However, they have so far been able to avoid significant regulation.

This is where you come in. As a consumer, you have the power to hold Big Tech accountable. You can choose to use products and services from companies that are committed to protecting your privacy and respecting your human rights. You can also support organisations that are fighting for stronger regulations on Big Tech. For those of you that are using ChatGPT without ever having read the terms of service, for example, which are pretty shocking, I'd urge you to read them, and seek to understand the implications of section 8 for instance.

Be highly skeptical about any company that requires a lot of your personal information, that wants to scan every eyeball in the world in order to enact it's own crypto currency, for example.

Rather than rushing to implement new forms of global governance around AI, insist on your legislators enact existing laws effectively first, to mitigate against the current dangers AI tools present now, which are many and varied. Then, when legislators consider AI regulation people have to come first, to be effective it should empower human rights.

Together, we can make sure that Big Tech doesn't use its power to exploit us. We can demand that they be held accountable for their actions and that they operate in a way that benefits all of us, not just their shareholders.

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