Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday that his biggest concern about artificial intelligence is the emergence of deepfakes that show factual but false content, Reuters reports.
In a speech in Washington aimed at looking at the best ways to tackle the issue of AI regulation, Smith called for steps to be taken to ensure people know when photos or videos are real and when they are fake.
"We will have to address the problems related to deepfakes, and we will have to address our concerns in this area, especially when it comes to foreign attempts to use these technologies in cyberspace to influence our countries, specifically the activities that the Russian government, China and the Iranians are already conducting," Smith said.
OpenAI CEO says there is great concern that AI could affect election integrity (Getty Images)
"We need to take steps to protect the public from counterfeiting content in cyberspace with the intent to deceive or defraud people through the use of artificial intelligence," Smith said.
Smith also called for licensing critical AI software, while restricting these licenses to the need to protect all forms of security.
"We will need a new generation of technology sharing controls, or at least the development of our technology export controls, to ensure that these technologies are not stolen or used in ways that violate U.S. standards," he said.
Lawmakers in Washington have struggled for weeks to agree on what laws to enact to control AI as companies large and small race to bring versatile AI to market.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, the startup behind the ChatGPT artificial intelligence software, told a Senate committee that he was "very concerned" that the use of AI could affect election integrity, adding that it needed to be regulated.
Altman, whose company OpenAI is backed by Microsoft, also called for global cooperation on artificial intelligence and incentives for companies that comply with safety standards.