US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, said it was too early to tell whether artificial intelligence was dangerous, but that technology companies had a responsibility to ensure their products were safe before making them public.
Biden told science and technology advisers that while AI could aid in the fight against disease and climate change, it was also critical to consider potential risks to society, national security, and the economy.
“Tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public,” he said at the start of a meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
When asked if artificial intelligence was dangerous, he replied, “It remains to be seen. It could be.”
He spoke on the same day that his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, surrendered in New York on charges related to a hush money investigation involving a porn star.
Biden would not comment on Trump’s legal problems.
According to the president, social media has already demonstrated the damage that powerful technologies can cause if proper safeguards are not in place.
“Absent safeguards, we see the impact on the mental health and self-images and feelings and hopelessness, especially among young people,” Biden said.
He reiterated his call for Congress to pass bipartisan privacy legislation to limit the amount of personal data that technology companies collect, to prohibit advertising to children, and prioritize health and safety in product development.
Shares of companies that use artificial intelligence fell sharply before Biden’s meeting.
