OpenAI is ready to fund the development of proofs-of-concept that could establish democratic processes for overseeing AI, while its iOS app version expands to 45 more countries
OpenAI, the creator of the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, is launching a grant program to receive ideas and concepts for proper AI functioning “within the bounds defined by the law” in the future.
The company will award ten $100,000 grants to fund experiments in setting up a democratic process for decision-making related to AI systems. Previously, OpenAI urged to create an international regulatory body for AI, since the absence of clear rules hinders the development of the fast-growing technology.
The company itself has faced obstacles on its way to international expansion, having been temporarily banned in Italy. There, local authorities were concerned about possible violations of privacy rules by the generative AI tool. It took OpenAI a while to reopen ChatGPT to Italian users.
Besides, the first encounter with legal issues made OpenAI co-founders realise that the pace of innovation in AI is too fast for the existing regulators to cope with. Therefore, OpenAI is seeking to fund individuals, teams and organizations that can create model guardrails for AI. The company wants to use these experiments as the basis for a more global and ambitious process of responsibly governing AI behaviour.
The firm envisions all the discussions and teamwork to happen according to the Platonic ideal of democracy. That includes a “broadly representative” group of people engaging in “deliberate” discussions of their diverse perspectives that lead to a transparent decision-making process.
OpenAI would like the process to help answer moral dilemma questions like “Under what conditions should AI systems condemn or criticize public figures, given different opinions across groups regarding those figures?” and “How should disputed views be represented in AI outputs?”
The project will present a public opinion on the issue that is already a matter of concern for global governments. Thus, the leaders of G7 countries seek common vision for AI aiming to form a unified concept of attitude to artificial intelligence and its capabilities.
While countries and organisations struggle with the ethical implications of artificial intelligence, the technology itself keeps developing in giant strides. OpenAI has expanded the availability of its ChatGPT app for iOS users to 45 different countries within a week after its initial launch in the US.
In the first six days since the launch, the ChatGPT mobile app has seen half a million downloads, making it one of the most-sought-for new apps.
