Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 13 minutes ago
A panel of technology experts examines the escalating debate surrounding artificial intelligence safety, risks to humankind, and the feasibility of global regulatory frameworks. CP Gurnani, former CEO of Tech Mahindra and co-founder of AIonOS, highlights recent warnings from leading technology companies, pointing out that agentic AI operating in isolation can create fake accounts and fake narratives. Emphasising the urgency of the issue, Gurnani asks, 'Can we hit the pause button?' Karine Ben Simon, VP of Global Partnerships at Dream, explains that governments must deploy sovereign AI capabilities and maintain complete control over data and critical infrastructure to empower cybersecurity defenders against autonomous attacks. Lalitesh Katragadda, founder of Indyhood.com, echoes the necessity of domestic code ownership, security, and regulation while maintaining optimism that the technology will ultimately create an era of plenty. The panel also analyses whether geopolitical competition between global superpowers could obstruct an effective international AI safety regime.

Category

🗞
News
Transcript
00:00Okay, let's widen the debate then on this critical issue. Will AI put human race at risk as some are
00:07fearing? Are the fears of AI company researchers genuine or not? Is it time for a global safety AI network?
00:16And should there be a kill switch that can in a way effectively stop, if at all possible, some of
00:23these technologies?
00:25Those are some of the questions I want to raise. Joining me now, special guest, joined by CP Goodnani, former
00:31CEO at Tech Mahindra, co-founder and vice chairman of INOS joins me. Also being joined by Kareen Ben-Simon.
00:39She's in Tel Aviv. She's VP Global Partnerships at Dream. It's a sovereign AI and cyber unicorn valued at 3
00:47billion US dollars.
00:48And Lalitesh Katragada is also joining me, founder of Indiehood.com and an AI expert. Good to have all of
00:55you on the show. I want to go first to you in Tel Aviv, Kareen.
00:59How are you seeing this entire controversy that's now snowballing across the world, started with an anthropic researcher quitting the
01:07company, saying AI companies are gambling with our lives and pose some kind of a risk to humankind? Do you
01:15think it's an exaggerated fear?
01:18So I believe that eventually government, in order to be able to defeat this race, they have to employ and
01:28deploy also sovereign AI capabilities.
01:30You have to be able to control the data. You have to be able to own the data and the
01:36infrastructure below it. So regardless of any, let's say, innovative or attackers capabilities, you will have to make sure that
01:46you have the necessary measures, AI based, because if not, it's not like a equivalent race to be able to
01:54protect your entities and your data and your government critical infrastructure.
02:06So are you saying that governments will have the power to have some kind of a kill switch, a safety
02:12or security mechanism that can shut down an AI system or machine if there is an emergency or some danger
02:19that's seen? Is that what you're saying? Is that feasible?
02:22So I'm saying that eventually each government, when they deploy or when they use AI, they have to put the
02:31necessary measures.
02:32Each government choose on how to do it, but they will have to have the necessary measures in order to
02:38protect and to make sure that everything is in place.
02:42So I think that eventually we'll have to make sure that the government has the ownership of the data and
02:49they have also the capability to understand and to control what is happening in their AI stack.
02:56If you decide to put a kill switch based on your, let's say, internal models, that's the controls that you
03:03provide.
03:03But we want to make sure that at least we know what we have inside of it in the entire
03:08AI stack.
03:13You know, CP Gudnani, you're hearing what Kareen is saying, that governments will need to have some kind of control
03:20over data.
03:21Do you believe that's at all feasible?
03:23I've had Vineet Nayar today on my show.
03:26He says these fears in any case are exaggerated.
03:28Even when the Internet first came, there were all kinds of fears about what Internet would do to our existence.
03:34Now it's AI companies, and maybe this is a valuation game.
03:37How do you respond?
03:40So let's take a step back.
03:43The first time in the history of technology, three companies agreed with each other.
03:51Elon Musk, OpenAI, and Anthropik.
03:54So you cannot say that the incident that happened at OpenAI is not a warning signal.
04:07Number two, we all also saw the three steps that the three companies have suggested.
04:17One is on-site auditor, one is lab being coordinated, and number third, agree with China on testing and limits.
04:31Now, this kind of collaboration, more to reemphasize that AI is now running faster.
04:48You know, Anthropik founder has said AI is now generating new AI.
04:55I think we need to take it very, very seriously, and there are only two or three ways of looking
05:04at it.
05:05Number one is control the usage of AI.
05:09I mean, let's not assume that this is a machine which can be given to every individual and allowed to
05:19function on its own.
05:20Number two is control the use cases, because if you run a use case, then you are basically saying, I
05:32have defined the input and I defined the output.
05:35So I can only repeat that current, I mean, they are using the word slowdown.
05:46Now, I would say, can we hit the pause button?
05:52And till we are able to...
05:55But you see, it's very interesting.
05:58Sorry, sir, sorry to intervene.
06:02You're saying we could maybe hit the pause button, but these are the very same companies that have built these
06:07large market valuations.
06:10They've got large market share.
06:11Now, suddenly, they are recognizing the dangers and the fears of AI.
06:15I mean, they've been at this for years now.
06:18Suddenly, AI becomes so dangerous.
06:20Did they not know this earlier?
06:24As you have noticed, is that some of these events have been a wake-up call.
06:32You heard about the open AI experiment of the people who are not connected, people who are working in isolation,
06:43and the agenting AI I'm talking about.
06:46Agenting AI working in isolation is able to create fake accounts and fake narrative.
06:53I don't think the authors of this software knew about it.
07:00And if they knew about it, I would say that at least now the three of them are agreeing.
07:07They are agreeing that they have a monster in hand.
07:15I would also add to that.
07:18So, you know, Mr. Gurnani is saying there's a monster in hand.
07:24Lalit Katragada, how do you respond?
07:26Do you believe there's a monster that's been created, a Frankenstein that's been created that could devour its own?
07:31Or do you believe that's an exaggeration, that actually AI is an enabler, and we've got to look at the
07:37positives, while also being conscious of security concerns that may be raised?
07:43There's a danger now that these fears could sort of create a fear-mongering, could create a sense of hysteria
07:49once again.
07:51Yeah, I think there's a little bit of all of that going on, Rajdeep.
07:57See, if you take a step back, compared to the Internet, this is the first time in human history where
08:03we have machines that can learn, learn not just what they are taught, but learn things they have not been
08:08taught.
08:08So the risks are definitely higher.
08:11But if you look very closely, the fourth AI company in the world, where the AI system, Gemini, is run
08:20by Demis.
08:20Demis has sort of agreed, but also said that some of these threats are highly exaggerated.
08:28He believes the risk is in the sub, you know, 1% and so on.
08:32But having said that, I think there is no doubt we need to have regulation.
08:36And the first point that Karina made, I completely echo.
08:41The risks of code that you don't control, the risks of data you don't control are very high.
08:46So the Indian, I think, regulation needs to recognize that.
08:50And in the long run, maybe medium term, Indian companies, whether they are customers of the software or producers of
08:56the software,
08:57we need to have our own code and we need to have our own data.
09:01But most importantly, I think we need to focus a lot more on security than we have been.
09:06But having said that, I am an optimist.
09:08I think this AI era is going to create an era of plenty.
09:11And I think we should not lose sight of that.
09:17But, you know, Lalit, if China, U.S., which are the two big powers that are in this major AI
09:24war or AI race,
09:26and they gain enormous economic and strategic advantage out of it, can we really have a global safety regime?
09:34Yes, Karin, you want to step into that?
09:35Because, you know, China and Washington, will they agree to these red lines or will national security competition make us
09:44an AI arms control regime?
09:46I mean, who's going to really bell the cat?
09:49Which governments are going to agree to this?
09:51Will China in particular agree to have the kind of control over AI and disclose that to the world?
10:00So I think that when we had the same issue with cybersecurity, let's say the offensive side had always, was
10:09always, you know, like a very advanced, very innovative in their techniques, etc.
10:13It didn't mean that the defense or the defenders had regulations and had global collaboration and had relevant, let's say,
10:23measures, security measures to make sure that, again, we minimize the race between attacker and defenders.
10:31It's the same for AI, even when we discovered a dream, an autonomous AI cyber attack recently that targeted government
10:40entities in Asia, we were able to understand how it operated and also shared the best practices with the government
10:49customers that we have with the global ecosystem.
10:52Because, again, you have to make sure that you identify the necessary countermeasures.
10:57So it doesn't mean that even if there's, you know, like a war or, let's say, attackers on the one
11:06side, you have to make sure that you empower the defenders leveraging AI capabilities.
11:11So that's what we do also with Dream.
11:13We provide this empowerment for the cyber defenders in the cybersecurity field.
Comments

Recommended