Beyond the Pause: Australia’s AI Opportunity – Part 2

Ever wish you could sit down with a real-deal AI technologist and ask them what’s on earth is going on? In this double-episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna chats with Bill Simpson Young and Tiberio Cataneo, CEO and Chief Scientist at Gradient Institute. This independent, non-profit research institute works to build safety, ethics, accountability and transparency into AI systems.

In Part One of this wide-ranging conversation, the trio:

• define key terms like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Frontier vs Foundation AI, Narrow vs General AI
• chat about Bill’s biggest bugbear
• talk about why Bill and Tiberio both signed the Pause Letter and
• discuss if it is even possible to regulate Artificial intelligence (spoiler alert: it is)
• and consider how liability could be used to incentivise improved AI safety.

In Part Two, they discuss:

• the benefits and perils of open-source AI models
• the possibility of securing an international agreement on AI safety, US and China dynamics and the opportunity for Australian leadership

the practical work that Gradient is doing to facilitate the technical implementation of ethical AI frameworks to address AI harms today.

Relevant Links:

• Gradient Institute: https://www.gradientinstitute.org/
• Australian Government Paper and call for submission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence: https://consult.industry.gov.au/supporting-responsible-ai
• Gradient’s Submission on Responsible AI: https://www.gradientinstitute.org/posts/disr-safe-responsible-ai-submission/
• The Pause Letter: https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/
• UK AI Safety Summit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-introduction
• The Future of Life Institute’s recommendations for the UK AI Safety Summit: https://futureoflife.org/project/uk-ai-safety-summit/
• Gradient and National AI Centre: Implementing Australia’s AI Ethics Principles: https://www.gradientinstitute.org/posts/csiro-gradient-new-report/
• The Coming Wave: Technology, Power and the Twenty-first Century’s greatest dilemma: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/90590134