Artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer and Google Brain co-founder Andrew Ng has spoken out against malicious applications of the technology, noting the generation of non-consensual deepfake intimate photos as one of the most troubling misuses of modern software he has encountered. Addressing the darker side of technological development in an interview on The Economist’s “Inside Tech” podcast recently, the Al pioneer dismissed the notion that this technology presents an existential threat to society.Firstly, Ng delivered a strong critique of synthetic explicit content, calling on lawmakers to establish strict regulations and severe measures to eliminate the abuse entirely.“AI applications have problems. For example, one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen is AI being used to generate non-consensual, deepfake intimate imagery,” Ng said, adding, “That’s all for the past laws put in place for harsh penalties to just get rid of that.”
‘Balancing AI’s value with dangerous harms’
While acknowledging the severe harms enabled by certain AI deployments, Ng maintained that the broader technology remains enormously valuable. The primary challenge, he indicated, is addressing harmful cases while preserving the societal benefits created by AI. Despite the prevalence of bad actors and misuse, Ng emphasised that he remains optimistic about the future of AI safety governance.“AI is tremendously valuable, but has some problematic use cases. The thing that gives me optimism is that many nations have managed to collaborate on safety issues, even when they disagreed on other things,” he said.To illustrate how the global community can manage safety risks, Ng pointed to commercial aviation as a proven precedent for cross-border collaboration.“For example, airlines around the world actually do not compete on safety and will share safety information because having aviation be safer is a good thing. Even if airlines are competing like crazy for business, I think there’s actually room for collaboration,” Ng added.The founder of DeepLearning Al that provides technical training on Generative Al, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and other topics, also alleged some industry leaders of manufacturing existential safety arguments to lobby for regulations that crush open-source competition.