AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li says AI policy must be based on ‘science, not science fiction’

Fei-Fei Li, the Stanford laptop scientist and startup founder generally referred to as “the Godmother of AI,” has outlined “three elementary rules for the way forward for AI policymaking” forward of subsequent week’s AI Motion Summit in Paris.

First, Li mentioned coverage should be primarily based on “science, not science fiction.” In different phrases, policymakers ought to concentrate on the present actuality of AI, not on grandiose futuristic situations, “whether or not utopia or apocalypse.”

Specifically, Li mentioned that it’s essential for policymakers to know that chatbots and co-pilot applications “aren’t types of intelligence with intentions, free will or consciousness,” to allow them to keep away from “the distraction of far-fetched situations” and focus as an alternative on “important challenges.”

Second, she argued that coverage ought to “be pragmatic, quite than ideological,” by which she means it ought to be written to “minimise unintended penalties whereas incentivising innovation.”

Lastly, Li mentioned these coverage should empower “your entire AI ecosystem — together with open-source communities and academia.”

“Open entry to AI fashions and computational instruments is essential for progress,” she mentioned. “Limiting it’s going to create obstacles and gradual innovation, notably for tutorial establishments and researchers who’ve fewer sources than their private-sector counterparts.”