Microsoft President Warns World To Have Laws To Control AI Before It's Too Late

Microsoft¡¯s President, Brad Smith warns that life depicted in George Orwell¡¯s 1984 could soon become a reality in 2024 if lawmakers around the world don¡¯t protect the public against the harmful effects of AI.

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Smith referenced the popular book 1984 in a conversation with BBC¡¯s Panorama program while discussing how the governments around the world are slowly increasing their ability to monitor their citizens.

Smith said, ¡°I'm constantly reminded of George Orwell's lessons in his book 1984. You know the fundamental story was about a government who could see everything that everyone did and hear everything that everyone said all the time.

To the uninitiated, 1984 talks about a story where citizens are constantly under surveillance and censorship, eliminating the notion of privacy. The government in the story does this to take down forms of individualism.

Smith added, ¡°that didn't come to pass in 1984, but if we¡¯re not careful that could come to pass in 2024.¡±

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Today we see China taking a keen interest in the field of artificial intelligence and its vision of being a leader in the field of AI in the coming years. The government has also been very keen on using facial recognition technology for mass surveillance. In fact, it has 54 percent of the world's CCTV cameras, according to Comparitech (highlighted by the Daily Mail).

Smith went on to say that he feared that technology, with what it¡¯s capable of, could soon surpass the human ability to control it, while shedding light on an immense need to enact proper laws to to keep the public safe.

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Smith added, ¡°If we don¡¯t enact the laws that will protect the public in the future, we are going to find the technology racing ahead, and it¡¯s going to be very difficult to catch up.¡±

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Smith is also part of the lead chair at the World Economic Forum¡¯s council that monitors AI research around the world and allows the nations to reach a compromise on how AI should be explored, along with the restrictions that are needed to be put in place.

The council also has representatives from the UN and UNICEF, along with IBM and other tech companies that are involved in the business of AI research.