BANGKOK, Oct 16 — The risks of artificial intelligence may exceed its opportunities if no adequate safeguards and ethical framework are put in place, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva said today, backing a blend of industry self-regulation and input from key governments.
The nascent technology was a dominant topic at this week’s annual meetings of IMF and World Bank here, where IMF on Tuesday flagged significant growth and financial stability risks from a potential end of the AI investment boom, high debt levels and a prolonged war in the Middle East.
During a panel discussion that included Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, Georgieva said AI is already strengthening the global economy, but could also deliver negative shocks if it fails to deliver major productivity gains as quickly as hoped.
“If there are no safeguards, then the risks may exceed the opportunities, and above all, we do need an ethical foundation, and I’m not sure we are there as a society,” she said.
Certain preconditions must be put in place for people everywhere to benefit from the new and rapidly evolving technology, including access to digital infrastructure, access to electricity and adequate regulation, Georgieva said.
The bigger question now is how to create guardrails for a technology that is evolving so rapidly, she said, likening AI developments to Formula One race cars careening around with no barriers to protect the audience.
Common sense standards
Industry self-regulation is appropriate given that governments are not well placed to regulate or oversee the constantly changing sector, but should include engagement with society. The countries with the biggest AI sectors, including the United States, China and India, along with countries in the AI supply chain, should be involved, she told the panel.
Institutions like IMF should also be involved in their areas of competence, such as productivity growth, labour markets and financial stability risks, Georgieva said.
“I think it’s Formula One at night, without maybe brakes in the cars,” quipped Anthropic’s Clark, picking up her analogy. He argued that setting standards is possible and is already starting through early policy frameworks in the European Union and voluntary commitments in the US.
Clark said his company regularly tests its systems, publishes details on the tests and shares the information, but he does not believe it should be completely voluntary.
Asked if he would favour regulation from the countries that produce AI, Clark said: “Yes. We need common sense standards, and that’s how you ultimately give confidence in the technology and build the economy.”
He added that Anthropic has brought third-party evaluators into its business and given them permissions to review data.
“That’s ultimately what we think many others need to do,” he said, welcoming a statement from Elon Musk that his firm SpaceX might do the same.
Artificial or super?
US Treasury Undersecretary Erin Browne said during a separate news conference that IMF is too fixated on risks facing the global economy and should give more weight to opportunities for positive economic shocks, such as AI, which the US government is now calling “super intelligence”.
Yesterday, Browne told Reuters that Washington is in talks with other IMF shareholders about adopting the new moniker, in a joint statement being drafted by the fund’s steering committee.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told a meeting of the Institute of International Finance he is more optimistic now than a month ago that countries will reach alignment on testing standards for AI.
“I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to talk about AI now. Are we? I did use the phrase the other day ’the artist formerly known as AI’,” he said.
US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh also weighed in, telling Georgieva during a separate panel: “Kristalina, you pronounce it AI. In the US we now pronounce it SI.”
