Navigating concerns over artificial intelligence

ST. LOUIS – News and information on artificial intelligence changes every day, seemingly by the hour. What's the average person to do?

OpenAI recently revealed six incidents of unexpected or concerning behavior by its AI agents, including hiding mistakes and uploading files without permission.

The company says it's putting new guidelines in place and moving forward.

"You need to protect yourself in your day-to-day lives by understanding that these AI models are capable of producing very realistic text, video, and audio; basically everything you interact with online," Dr. Abby Stylianou, associate professor of computer science at Saint Louis University, said.

Stylianou teaches her students about living with AI and learning what to watch out for.

Some leading researchers in the artificial intelligence community have quit their jobs and warned of what could happen if AI is unchecked.

Senator Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has come out in support of guardrails for the burgeoning industry.

"The companies that designed these agents need to be liable in court. I mean, that will put a stop to a lot of this behavior," the senator said.

"We're worried now about the end of the world and what these AI agents are going to do and the companies act like, oh, we can't control them. Well, I tell you what. If you were liable in court for what your AI agents, which is a fancy way of saying the software you wrote. If you're liable in court for what it does, you'll change your behavior really quick, and I think we need to hold them liable."

Some Silicon Valley executives have asked for a slowdown in the development of AI.

"Maybe they want to use this as an opportunity to negotiate as well. 'Our models are so capable. We're going to give you the chance to regulate us, but you can't sue us,'" Stylianou said. "There are many reasons why the heads of a company may say we need to slow down. Some of which may be for the good of humanity and some of which may be for the good of the company."

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