IMF chief Georgieva warns AI risks may outweigh benefits — Cyprus Mail
In Bangkok, Thailand, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that the risks of artificial intelligence could outweigh its opportunities unless appropriate safeguards and ethical standards are introduced. Cyprus Mail reports this from the IMF and World Bank annual meetings.
The need for safeguards
According to Georgieva, AI is already strengthening the global economy, but it could cause adverse shocks if significant productivity growth does not occur as quickly as expected. She stressed that society needs an ethical framework for using the technology.
The IMF chief also named access to digital infrastructure, electricity and proper regulation as necessary conditions for people in different countries to benefit from AI. She compared the rapid development of artificial intelligence to a Formula 1 race without barriers that could protect spectators.
Common standards for AI
Georgieva supported combining industry self-regulation with the participation of key governments. In her view, countries with the largest AI sectors, including the United States, China and India, as well as states involved in technology supply chains, should take part in developing the rules. The IMF, she said, can work in the areas of productivity growth, the labor market and risks to financial stability.
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Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said that setting standards is possible and has already begun through the European Union’s early regulatory mechanisms and voluntary commitments in the United States. He added that Anthropic regularly tests its systems, publishes details of the checks, has involved third-party evaluators and provided them access to verify data. At the same time, Clark believes that such oversight should not be entirely voluntary.
Debate over the technology’s name
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Erin Brown said at a separate press conference that the IMF is too focused on risks to the global economy and should pay more attention to the opportunities for positive economic change from AI. According to her, the US government now calls the technology “superintelligence” and is discussing with other IMF shareholders the possibility of using that term in a joint statement by the fund’s steering committee.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, meanwhile, said that he had become more optimistic about the possibility of countries agreeing on standards for testing artificial intelligence systems.
