Microsoft President: AI advanced quicker than we expected - we need to act urgently

Six in ten people in the UK think Artificial Intelligence will destroy more jobs than it creates. The President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, is optimistic that won’t be the case - that in the future people will still be in work, although a period of upheaval lies ahead. Smith believes jobs will be lost as AI is rolled out and governments will need to intervene to help people manage the transition. He spoke of the need to ensure people have the right skills to adapt to this new world; of taxing companies which use AI or robots to replace human labour; and of potentially “protecting” certain jobs - teachers, doctors, judges and care workers - from being performed by AI. Brad Smith told ITV News that AI has become more powerful in the last two years than anyone in the industry had imagined and that there is a risk humans will lose control of the technology unless there is urgent regulation. “I think the time to act is now,” he said. “I don’t believe [AI] is an existential threat today, but I also believe that the best way to avoid having a problem become worse is to address it now. Let’s not wait until it’s beyond our ability to solve.” Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, used to argue that the risks posed by AI were manageable. He has changed his mind. Last week, in an interview with the New York Times, he said AI is “the most dangerous thing humans have ever gone near” and makes nuclear weapons “look like nothing”. Gates says we passed what he called “the danger threshold” earlier this year. He argues existing AI systems could empower a bioterrorist to “kill hundreds of millions of people” or enable a cyberattack that disrupts banking and electricity networks. Brad Smith didn’t challenge that assessment. “I do believe that Bill is right to raise these issues,” Smith said. “His language is a little bit more colourful than mine usually has been, but I would not back away from what he is fundamentally calling for, which is more serious action.” ----------------------- • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en Follow ITV News on Instagram:   / itvnews   Follow ITV News on Facebook:   / itvnews   Follow ITV News on X:   / itvnews