Dictatorship in Boardroom ?

The recent events which unfolded at Open AI were unprecedented to say the least. Initially a CEO was fired by the board and then the investors who had stake it the company brought him back. In short, the CEO has effectively fired the board. It is very typical of an era of personality cult culture which has gone against the idiom “No one is indispensable”. And this personality cult culture has been in political domain so far when a particular leader becomes a dictator and wields so much power that he can lead the country to war or wrong path just because he believes that he is right. This culture now seems to have taken roots in the business environment

It also proves a point that the board which has no investors can become a toothless tiger eventually. I could still understand if it was commercial organization but as per internet OpenAI?is an AI research and deployment?company. Their mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. It has been in existence since 2015 and we can know how much benefit it has brought to the society so far. The events have posed a larger question. The board which comprised of non-investors were trying to protect the society or the investors trying to protect the society. Collective wisdom of the board is better or one man with the backing of the investors. Investors would always be ruthless to make money and grow their stock prices. They always want numbers but not necessarily open to consider the impact on humanity. To that extent they can fire a number of employees too irrespective of the CSG initiatives they claim to be following. A board consisting of non-investors primarily was the voice of the society in large. But in this case the investors with their money power have won the round.

Many researchers have said that unbridled innovation and development in generative AI will be dangerous for the human society. Only time will tell if these events are any indication of the future. I remember reading the reasons why Elon Musk (who was a cofounder of Open AI) resigned from the company. Elon Musk left OpenAI because of the potential impact of advanced AI on humanity, particularly the possibility of machines surpassing human intelligence and becoming uncontrollable. Musk believes that it is essential to ensure that AI development aligns with human values and benefits, rather than simply maximizing technological advancement. As per print media citing CNBC, Musk also suggested that OpenAI didn’t place sufficient emphasis on safe AI development. Musk was a signatory to a March?open letter?asking for a pause in advanced AI development while safeguards were established but told Faber that he knew the letter was unlikely to do anything. It is clear that the current events are more strategic disagreements and the balance between safety and business interests

They say history repeats itself if one does not learn from it. We had Hitler who could rise from ranks to become a powerful leader who would plunge the world into a world war. Are we seeing the beginning of the same cult in business domain? Are we seeing the beginning of a Frankenstein?

When social media like FB and Twitter was launched it was hailed as very useful for the society to connect and communicate. But now most governments have realised its potential dangers if left unregulated. It has power to spread rumors quickly as we have seen in many cases. Even the recent concern by government over deepfakes is also an indication of what dangers we are awaiting us in future.? All this points to only one thing. Time has come for governments world over (including UN) to step in to regulate AI before it is too late. Otherwise for sure Machines will be Masters of Human beings. And for this we need to have collective wisdom respected in the board rooms too.

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