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🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's message at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, where he advocates against governments outlawing open-source software or passing regulations that stifle open-source development. The article covers the author's views on regulating AI, the risks of slowing down AI progress, and the need to distinguish between regulating technology and applications.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The author's message at the WEF and APEC meetings

1. What is the author's message at the WEF and APEC meetings?

• The author's message is that governments should not outlaw open-source software or pass regulations that stifle open-source development.

2. Why does the author believe this is important?

• The author believes that ill-advised proposals to regulate the technology (such as foundation models) would slow down AI development unnecessarily, while good regulations are needed to govern AI applications.
• The author argues that the beneficial uses of AI far outweigh the nefarious ones, and slowing down AI progress would be a loss for humanity.

[02] Regulating AI

1. What are the author's views on regulating AI?

• The author discusses the ongoing debate around regulating AI, with the EU's AI Act being a recent example.
• The author agrees with the provisions in the EU's AI Act that address the risks and mandate mitigations for certain AI applications, but disagrees with the onerous reporting requirements on companies that develop foundation models, including open-source organizations.

2. How does the author distinguish between regulating technology and applications?

• The author argues that it's important to distinguish between regulating technology (such as a foundation model) and applications (such as a website or medical device that uses a foundation model).
• The author believes we need good regulations to govern AI applications, but ill-advised proposals to regulate the technology would slow down AI development unnecessarily.

[03] Concerns about open-source AI

1. What are the concerns about open-source AI that the author addresses?

• The author mentions a faction in the U.S. that is worried about the nation's perceived adversaries using open-source technology for military or economic advantage, and is willing to slow down the availability of open-source to deny adversaries' access.
• The author disagrees with this approach, arguing that the price of slowing down AI progress is too high, as AI's beneficial uses far outweigh the nefarious ones.

2. How does the author respond to the concerns about open-source AI being used for nefarious purposes?

• The author acknowledges that he would hate to see open-source used to wage unjust wars, but argues that slowing down AI progress is not the solution.
• The author believes that as society has become smarter over centuries, humanity has become much better off, and the world is better off with more intelligence, whether human or artificial.