of the event
Join us for Consensus 2023 LIVE and hear from one of the biggest news-makers of the decade, Edward Snowden. The former NSA contractor turned whistleblower will discuss his experiences, the implications of mass surveillance, and his thoughts on privacy in the digital age. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain insights from one of the world’s most controversial figures. Register now for Consensus 2023 LIVE.
Edward Snowden Discusses the Pros and Cons of AI at Consensus 2023
Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden was a keynote speaker at Consensus 2023, where he talked about the latest developments in artificial intelligence. Snowden discussed how AI could be used to promote human flourishing, but he also addressed its potential for surveillance, highlighting his concerns about the technology’s power to observe people at scale.
During his talk, Snowden called out OpenAI for branding itself with a name that does not align with its refusal to provide open access to its training data. He also pointed out that Stable Diffusion had deliberately crippled its training data, stating that such actions undermine the algorithms’ accuracy and therefore impede the technology’s progress.
Furthermore, Snowden thinks AI is difficult to manage legislatively, given that corporations and governments are increasingly observing the public. He indicated that entities with vast data centers have a distinct advantage in the AI field regarding gathering their citizens’ behavior information. In his view, AI’s rise has made people more “legible” and “malleable.”
Snowden argued that there should be established legislation to declare that the models must be open to everyone, referring to a type of software communism as a means of levelling the playing field for AI development. He also suggested that many of AI’s errors could be eradicated if the developers focused less on teaching the machines to learn like humans but instead strive to develop smarter AI that is “better than humans.”
Edward Snowden’s speech at Consensus 2023 opened a necessary and thought-provoking discussion regarding AI’s role in surveillance and the potential consequences of the technology’s continued development without regulation. His insight into the need to leverage AI to its full potential while mitigating its potential negative impact may prove vital in shaping the future of this promising field.
Why Edward Snowden Concluded That AI Should be “Better Than Us”?
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, was a keynote speaker at Consensus 2023, where he shared his thoughts on the latest developments in artificial intelligence. Snowden noted that many of AI’s errors could be eradicated if developers focused less on teaching machines to learn like humans and more on creating smarter AI that’s better than humans.
Snowden explained that AI’s primary mistake lies in mimicking human learning processes. He suggested that humans become human through life experiences, which machines cannot replicate. Instead, Snowden proposed that AI should be developed with smarter algorithms and decision-making processes that exceed human capabilities.
The rise of AI has made people more “legible” and “malleable,” according to Snowden, and governments and corporations have a distinct advantage in the AI field thanks to the enormous data centers they have access to about their citizen’s behavior. Snowden thinks AI is tough to manage legislatively, making it necessary to establish legislation that ensures AI models are open to everyone.
Snowden has been supportive of the creation of privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash and with Bitcoin. His insights into what he thinks AI should become could contribute significantly to discussions around the technology’s long-term goals, benefits and consequences. The need to leverage AI for human benefits while ensuring it develops within ethical and legal boundaries is crucial, and Snowden’s ideas on this topic are essential conversations for stakeholders in the field.