OpenAI CEO expected to meet policymakers in Dubai

April 16, 20230
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Sam Altman is expected to meet policymakers in Dubai, as part of his world tour, but we’re only one big scandal away from a global crackdown.

The OpenAI CEO is expected to visit Dubai as part of his 16 stop global tour in May-June to meet with customers, developers and policymakers Since Altman’s visit follows the Elon Musk-backed open letter to halt additional development and training of LLMs like GPT and Italy’s banning of ChatGPT at the end of March, the question of AI regulation is, no doubt, being quickly pushed up regulators’ agendas.

Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI) asked me why he is making this world tour and why now is the right time to talk to policymakers. In short, time is of the essence!

Italy’s ChatGPT ban over concerns about data privacy, lack of age restrictions and ChatGPT’s potential to misinform people at scale, provides a clear signal that OpenAI needs to open up channels with regulators worldwide to ensure that they feel they understand ChatCPT and the company’s plans a little better. Other regulators have these same concerns and it’s a significant challenge for regulators to keep abreast of how this fast-moving technology will affect existing laws, rights and data regulations

If OpenAI expects to keep releasing new more powerful versions, it needs to help set expectations now. So, it would be natural to expect there to be  dialogue between OpenAI and regulators, with OpenAI sharing what regulators can expect from its platforms, and regulators sharing their needs and concerns.

The more regulators feel ill informed or that laws are being ignored, the greater the risk of further bans. As with any new, little understood, technology, we’re only one big scandal away from a crackdown.”

As with any new, little understood technology, we’re only one big scandal away from a crackdown. So, it’s well worth OpenAI’s time to put some work now into keeping regulators informed.

You can read UAE-based journalist Megha Merani‘s full story in AGBI here

by Carrington Malin

Carrington Malin is a UAE-based marketing and communications professional, consultant, entrepreneur and writer with many years experience of building brands, driving growth and leading high-performance teams. He has worked with a wide range of high-growth, technology and tech-driven ventures across ecommerce, consumer products, digital services, B2B, media, software, hardware and other sectors. These days he focuses mainly on emerging technology ventures related to artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR), blockchain, drones, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and smart cities.


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