But here’s the catch: the EU is still a long way away from implementing rules on generative AI, and a lot of the proposed elements of the AI Act are not going to make it to the final version. There are still tough negotiations left between the parliament, the European Commission, and the EU member countries. It will be years until we see the AI Act in force.

While regulators struggle to get their act together, prominent voices in tech are starting to push the Overton window. Speaking at an event last week, Microsoft’s chief economist, Michael Schwarz, said that we should wait until we see “meaningful harm” from AI before we regulate it. He compared it to driver’s licenses, which were introduced after many dozens of people were killed in accidents. “There has to be at least a little bit of harm so that we see what is the real problem,” Schwarz said. 

This statement is outrageous. The harm caused by AI has been well documented for years. There has been bias and discrimination, AI-generated fake news, and scams. Other AI systems have led to innocent people being arrested, people being trapped in poverty, and tens of thousands of people being wrongfully accused of fraud. These harms are likely to grow exponentially as generative AI is integrated deeper into our society, thanks to announcements like Google’s. 

The question we should be asking ourselves is: How much harm are we willing to see? I’d say we’ve seen enough.

Deeper Learning

The open-source AI boom is built on Big Tech’s handouts. How long will it last?

New open-source large language models—alternatives to Google’s Bard or OpenAI’s ChatGPT that researchers and app developers can study, build on, and modify—are dropping like candy from a piñata. These are smaller, cheaper versions of the best-in-class AI models created by the big firms that (almost) match them in performance—and they’re shared for free.

The future of how AI is made and used is at a crossroads. On one hand, greater access to these models has helped drive innovation. It can also help catch their flaws. But this open-source boom is precarious. Most open-source releases still stand on the shoulders of giant models put out by big firms with deep pockets. If OpenAI and Meta decide they’re closing up shop, a boomtown could become a backwater. Read more from Will Douglas Heaven.

Bits and Bytes

Amazon is working on a secret home robot with ChatGPT-like features
Leaked documents show plans for an updated version of the Astro robot that can remember what it’s seen and understood, allowing people to ask it questions and give it commands. But Amazon  has to solve a lot of problems before these models are safe to deploy inside people’s homes at scale. (Insider)